The UCSD men’s basketball team got off to a strong
conference start at home this weekend, defeating Cal State Stanislaus, 63-60,
on Nov. 30 and Chico State, 65-55, on Dec. 1. The Tritons did not trail in
either game but had to hold off furious comebacks from both teams, improving
their record to 2-2 overall and 2-0 in California Collegiate Athletic
Association play.
After an 8-0 UCSD run opened the game against Chico State,
the Wildcats tied things up at 10 at the 11:50 mark of the first half. The
Tritons then converted four three-pointers over the next three minutes, two
coming from junior guard Kelvin Kim, to key a 13-0 run. The Wildcats scored
only five points in over nine minutes in the first half, as the Tritons’
stifling defense held Chico State’s leading scorer Darroll Phillips — averaging
over 20 points per game on the season — scoreless through the first 18 minutes
of the contest. UCSD extended its lead to as much as 21 points in the first
half before taking a 40-23 lead into the break.
The Wildcats chipped away at UCSD’s lead in the second half,
capitalizing on a series of Triton fouls and pulling within single digits after
two Phillips free-throws with 9:42 left in the game. Chico State came within
one possession following a successful three-point play with just over three
minutes left, but sophomore guard Jordan Lawley knocked down a huge
three-pointer on the following possession and added two free throws down the
stretch, as UCSD converted six of eight shots from the line in the final
minute-and-a-half to seal the victory.
Lawley said UCSD’s fourth win in the last five meetings with
Chico State was a product of good teamwork.
“It really was a team effort,” he said. “We pulled through
and we had a big lead and we kind of let that cut down in the second half, but
in the end we held our guns and kept the intensity up.”
Lawley led all scorers with 17 points, grabbing two rebounds
with one assist and one block along the way, while sophomore forward Andrew
Browning added 10 points and four rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench.
UCSD shot only 35.4 percent from the field during the game,
but made 45 percent of their three-point attempts, including 6-of-9 in the
first half. A tremendous Triton defense limited Chico State’s second-chance
opportunities, holding the Wildcats to 34.1 percent field-goal shooting and
2-for-15 shooting from long distance.
The Tritons’ trend of striking first began against Cal State
Stanislaus the night before their game against Chico State, as senior guard
Clint Allard opened the contest with a three-pointer, hit a second less than
two minutes later and scored eight of UCSD’s first 10 points in just over four
minutes.
Allard’s early streak helped the Tritons to a 12-point lead
in the first half. The Warriors were able to cut that advantage with a
three-pointer before the end of the first-half, leaving UCSD with only a six-point
advantage heading into the locker rooms.
The Tritons came out of the gates hot again, building an
early 13-point lead, 38-25, less than three minutes into the second vhalf.
However, it would be UCSD’s largest lead of the half as the Warriors hung around
and pulled within four at the 7:23 mark.
The teams would battle over the next five minutes, with UCSD
leading by as many as six and Cal State Stanislaus getting as close as two.
The Warriors had numerous chances to make it a one-point
game, including a layup attempt that junior forward Darryl Lawlor blocked, but
were still unable to convert several put-back attempts on the same possession.
Cal State Stanislaus would eventually bat the ball back
outside to reset, but Allard picked off a pass and drove for a layup to put the
Tritons up by five.
Allard, UCSD’s second leading scorer and the team’s leader
in rebounds and assists, said the team’s veterans are now more poised to finish
a game strongly.
“We have a lot of experience this year and as long as it’s
close at the end I feel really confident,” Allard said. “Now we don’t want to
be close in the end in every game … but when it’s close, we have the
experience, the leadership and the ball handling to be able to take care of
[the game].”
That experience and leadership was on clear display in the
contest’s final two minutes when, following a Warrior jumper, junior forward
Henry Patterson grabbed an offensive rebound, drew a foul and made two free
throws to regain a five-point advantage.
Cal State Stanislaus pulled within one point following a
three-pointer and a layup, but Kim scored UCSD’s final three points from the
free throw line, including two with nine seconds to play, and the Tritons
defense heavily contested Stanislaus’ final shot to seal the home opening win.
Head coach Chris Carlson praised his team’s perseverance and
ability to close out the game.
“When things really started not going our way, we could have
caved in and we didn’t,” he said. “We sucked it up and got stops when we really
needed to. That was the most impressive thing and that’s what we’re going to
have to do all year long.”
Allard, showcasing all facets of his game after his early
scoring outburst, finished with a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds,
while also helping to get his teammates involved with five assists, as well as
adding two steals and a block for the Tritons.
Kim also scored 14 points, adding three rebounds, three
steals and two assists. The Tritons won the battle on the boards 36-28, and
shot 45.8 percent from the field, while holding Cal State Stanislaus to below
40 percent field-goal shooting, as Carlson earned his first career head
coaching victory in the regular season.
“They’re a special group of young men and I really, really
enjoy being the head coach here,” Carlson said “It’s all because of them, it
all starts and ends with good players.”
UCSD continues its current five-game homestand on Dec. 6
against
of
p.m. The Tritons will then return to action following finals, hosting William
Jewell College in a 3 p.m. matchup on Sunday, Dec. 16 and concluding their
winter break schedule against Wayne State University on Tuesday, Dec. 18 at 7
p.m. All games will take place in RIMAC Arena.
