The Tritons men’s basketball team pulled off an upset on Feb. 21 on the road against the UC Davis Aggies, 79-73, after dropping the first game of the road trip to Chico State, 108-98.
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“This win was our biggest win of the year,” junior forward Brandon Francis said. “We were up against one of the top four teams and in front of a crowd of [2,500] people heckling us everywhere.”
UCSD head coach Greg Lanthier has insisted throughout the season that his team is better on the road. On Feb. 21, the Tritons proved him right. UCSD came out fired up against the Aggies, and its energy never let up the entire game.
“[UCSD] was playing at a higher level of intensity and we could never match that,” UC Davis coach Gary Stewart said.
The game was a back-and-forth contest in the first half with five lead changes and 14 ties. The Tritons held the biggest lead of the half following back-to-back three-pointers from Francis to make it 20-11. The Aggies countered with a 12-2 run over the next three minutes and 18 seconds, capped by a Ryan Moore three-pointer. The score was tied at halftime.
Francis had 14 points in the first half, which included four three-pointers.
The second half was a mirror image of the first half for the Tritons. The team relied on its stellar shooting and balanced team scoring to keep the lead intact.
Back-to-back three-pointers from sophomore guards Zach Zanolli and Matthew Sweany extended the Triton lead to seven with just over four minutes left. UC Davis chipped away at the lead, cutting it to one at the 1:54 mark. After a Sweany turnover, the Aggies looked to take the lead, but a three that fell short and freshman guard Adam Reinking’s layup on the next possession made it a three-point game.
UC Davis had another chance to tie the contest, but a missed three sealed it as Sweany came down with the rebound, forcing the Aggies to foul him. He made both attempts to make it a two-possession game with 11 seconds left. Another free throw from Cameron Jackson in the finals second gave the Tritons the victory.
As a team, the Tritons connected on 53 percent of their shots, including a blistering 58 percent (11-for-19) from three-point range.
On Feb. 20 against Chico State, UCSD hit 19 of 34 threes, giving them 30 on the weekend.
Francis torched the Aggies for 21 points, including five of 10 from beyond the three-point line.
“I had a good weekend [scoring 21 points versus UC Davis and 27 points versus Chico State],” Francis said. “I was taking shots and playing hard. I had a lot of energy and when the crowd gets loud and heckles, it just adds fuel to the fire.”
In addition, Sweany finished with 14 points and six rebounds while Reinking had 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
The win for the Tritons snapped a seven-game winning streak for the Aggies, and gave the Tritons their second win in a row at UC Davis.
The win boosted the Tritons after they lost another shoot-out on Feb. 20 at Chico State. UCSD has a 7-11 record in the California Collegiate Athletic Association, tying them for sixth place in the league.
The Tritons return home for their final homestand of the season against Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State Los Angeles on Feb. 27 and Feb. 28, respectively.
