The UCSD men’s basketball team posted back-to-back wins on Feb. 27 and Feb. 28 at RIMAC Arena. The wins over Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State Los Angeles give the Tritons a season-high, three-game winning streak.
The Tritons, who were coming off their biggest win of the season against UC Davis on Feb. 21, returned home to face the Cal State Dominguez Hills Toros and won a close game, 83-77.
In the first half, the Tritons trailed 20-14 with seven minutes and 14 seconds remaining, but then found their outside shooting. UCSD hit three consecutive three-pointers within 50 seconds, two of them coming from junior guard Brandon Francis, to take a 23-20 lead, an advantage it would not surrender the rest of the game. The Tritons took a 38-29 advantage into the locker room at the half.
“We have had to deal with the loss of a few key players recently, and so our offense has changed,” Francis said. “I can look to drive and score more and that’s what I have been doing.”
The Tritons continued to hit three-point shots in the second half. With the lead cut down to two at 54-52, senior guard Cameron Jackson calmly hit from downtown to push the lead back to five. UCSD would not let the Toros come back, preserving the victory.
UCSD finished 14-of-36 as a team from three-point range, and out-rebounded Cal State Dominguez Hills, 42 to 37. The Tritons had 24 assists to 14 by the visitors.
Francis led all scorers with 28 points. Jackson went 4-for-4 from the floor, including 2-for-2 from three-point range, and finished with 11 points and five assists. Sophomore guard Matthew Sweany and freshman forward Robby Peters finished with 15 and 12 points, respectively.
The Tritons returned to action the next night, Feb. 28, in the final home game of the season, and they did not disappoint the crowd, winning a thrilling game in overtime against Cal State Los Angeles, 83-79, after being down by as many as 13 points late in the game.
Down by 13 points with under nine minutes left, UCSD did not quit. The Tritons calmly battled back and sent the game to overtime, a sign that this team has matured over the course of the season.
In overtime “Mr. Clutch” Francis scored nine of UCSD’s 13 points and finished with a game-high 27 points. Sweany also had a great game and finished with 23 points and eight rebounds. Freshmen forward Adam Reinking pitched in 16 points to contribute his part in the Triton victory.
“We were juiced to tie the game up and send it to overtime,” Francis said. “That momentum carried over into the extra period.”
By winning for the fourth time in the last five games, the Tritons improved to 9-16 overall and 9-11 in the CCAA. With Sonoma State’s home loss to Cal State Bakersfield on Feb. 28, UCSD moves into sixth place in the conference standings.
“This winning streak means a lot to us, but it is just unfortunate that it is happening so late in the season because we have really come together as a team,” Francis said.
The Tritons conclude their season on the road this week at Cal State San Bernardino and Cal Poly Pomona. The Coyotes are on a 23-game win streak, having already clinched their fifth straight CCAA title outright on Friday. Cal Poly Pomona, a winner of nine straight games, is in a two-way tie for second place with Cal State Bakersfield.