After a dramatic 71-70 overtime victory over Cal State Stanislaus gave the UCSD men’s basketball team its first winning streak of the season on Jan. 7, a horrid shooting night against Chico State ended that streak. The Tritons now find themselves 5-5 overall and 2-2 in California Collegiate Athletic Association play.
After giving up a five-point lead in the final two minutes at Warrior Arena to allow the Cal State Stanislaus to force overtime, the Tritons got to the line on two separate occasions in the final minute, with junior guard/forward David Retzlaff providing the winning margin after converting one of two from the line with five seconds left.
A three-point attempt by Warrior sophomore Marcus Martinez bounced off the rim as the game ended.
UCSD had double-digit scoring from four players, including Retzlaff and freshman guard Clint Allard, who paced the team with 14 each, and freshman guard Andrew Hatch, who put in 13 while collecting a game-high nine rebounds and recording two steals.
Sophomore forward Parker Berling filled up a stat line with nine points, seven rebounds, two steals and a game-high two blocks.
Junior forward Kaving Young led the Warriors, scoring a game-high 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the field. Junior guard Jesse Satterfield added 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting and junior forward Joel Stallworth came off the bench to give six points and seven rebounds in 11 minutes.
Cal State Stanislaus senior Rick Fretter had 11 points, sinking 2-of-5 three-point attempts, including the long-range shot with three seconds left that sent the game into overtime.
The Tritons persevered due in large part to a .510 field goal percentage and a .444 percentage from behind the three-point arc.
The Warriors, still winless in CCAA play, shot a dismal .410 from the field and a frustrating .214 from three-point range.
The Tritons were the ones suffering from poor shooting on the evening of Jan. 8 when they fell, 80-54, to Chico State at Acker Gymnasium.
The Wildcats went on a 17-4 run in the first half to push the score to 25-12. The Tritons refused to go down early, climbing at one point to within six, before heading into halftime down nine.
However, the Wildcats, who forced 21 turnovers and outrebounded the Tritons, 39-28, clamped down in the second half, allowing only one field goal through the first 13 minutes of the second half as they built a 25-point lead that the Tritons could never significantly dent.
Chico State was led by 15 points each from senior guard Scott Land and reserve senior guard Colin Carr, who connected on 4-of-8 three-point attempts coming off the bench. Senior point guard Tim Haley was solid, handing out nine assists to go with his seven rebounds and four steals.
Reserve senior center Will Bonner was the only other Wildcat in double-digits, scoring 10 points and collecting a game-high nine rebounds.
Freshman guard Clint Allard and sophomore forward Chris Randall were the only Tritons in double digits, scoring 13 and 11 points, respectively.
Sophomore forward Parker Berling contributed six points and tied for the team-high with five rebounds in 17 minutes off the bench. The Tritons shot only .333 from the field and .313 from downtown as they fell to the team now tied for first place atop the CCAA.
The Tritons return home for their next two games, hosting defending CCAA champ Cal State San Bernardino on Jan. 12 and the CCAA’s newest member, Cal State Monterey, on Jan. 14. Both games are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. t RIMAC Arena.
