After a string of tough losses to California Collegiate Athletic Association opponents, the UCSD men’s basketball team finally ended its misfortunes in a 78-64 victory over former CCAA member Grand Canyon on Jan. 25 at RIMAC Arena.
The Tritons (2-6 CCAA, 6-9 overall) found themselves down early to the Antelopes (9-13 overall), continuing a recent trend where the team has faced first-half deficits it is unable to overcome.
However, once the Tritons started playing catch-up from the nine-point gap midway through the first half, they never looked back. The team went on a 15-4 streak to take the lead, and closed out the half on an amazing 31-7 run, placing the team ahead 40-27 at intermission.
The Tritons maintained the advantage throughout the second half, leading by as many as 18 and, except for a one-minute period after a Prileau Davis steal leading to a Noe Alonzo jumper, held a comfortable double-digit lead.
The Tritons’ 14-point win was the convincing victory this young team needed to end its season-long five-game losing streak, defeating Grand Canyon for only the fourth time ever in their 12 meetings.
The Tritons were a model of consistency, shooting a solid 50 percent from the field in each half while also having a strong game from the free-throw line, converting 79.3 percent of their free throws.
The Antelopes, while shooting over 50 percent in the first half, saw their accuracy dip to 43.3 percent in the second and struggled the entire night from three-point range. After going 1-of-3 from long distance in the first half, Grand Canyon could not shoot itself back into the game, missing 11 of its 14 three-point attempts in the second and finishing the game with a dismaying 25.3-percent shooting performance from behind the arc.
UCSD was also able to take advantage of the Antelopes’ 17 turnovers, but limited itself to only eight such miscues. UCSD’s nine steals and 17 assists, combined with its steady shooting performance, more than made up for Grand Canyon’s slightly better rebound numbers: the Anteaters pulled down 29 boards to the Tritons’ 25.
Four players scored in double digits for the Tritons, who have gone 3-1 when putting forward such a balanced offensive attack. Freshman guard Clint Allard led the way with 15 points and a team-high six assists. Junior guard Odioh Odiyeh added 13 points, sophomore forward Chris Randall had 11 points on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting performance from the field, and sophomore guard Robby Peters came off the bench to sink three of his six three-point attempts en route to his 13-point performance.
Grand Canyon was led by a game-high 24 points from forward Alonzo. The team had only one other player in double digits, as reserve Emil Swain contributed 13 points.
The Antelopes suffered the entire night because of their starting guards’ inability to score. While Ryan Nelson accounted for game highs of eight rebounds and eight assists, and Prileau Davis added nine points, five assists and four rebounds in 40 minutes of play, the two combined for eight turnovers.
The Tritons will try to continue their winning ways in a pair of league contests this weekend. They will gear up for UCSD Spirit Night on Jan. 28 as they play host to Sonoma State (9-6 overall, 6-2 CCAA), followed by a match-up with San Francisco State (8-7 overall, 5-3 CCAA) on Jan. 29. Both games are scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off at RIMAC Arena.
