MEN’S BASKETBALL — The Tritons endured an exhausting road
trip this weekend, defeating Cal State Dominguez Hills 78-74 in double overtime
on Jan. 11 before falling to Cal State Los Angeles 111-102 in a triple overtime
contest on Jan. 12. After the back-to-back grueling contests, the Tritons’
overall record now stands at 7-4 and 4-2 in the California Collegiate Athletic
Association, leaving them tied for third in the CCAA standings.
“We certainly played a lot of minutes and so that’s
certainly a cause for concern as we move on from here,” head coach Chris
Carlson said.
After sophomore guard Jordan Lawley opened the scoring with
a three-pointer against the Golden Eagles on Jan. 12, CSULA would gain an early
advantage, leading by as much as seven through the first 10 minutes of the
half. A 10-2 run by UCSD put the Tritons up by one with 9:52 left in the half,
but the teams changed leads five times and found themselves in a dead heat on
another five occasions, going into halftime locked at 30 points apiece. The
teams stayed close in the second half, with a five-point Triton lead four
minutes out of the break being the half’s largest differential. The Tritons
found themselves on the negative end of the seesaw battle, down four points
with under two and half minutes remaining in regulation. UCSD would go on to
score on consecutive possessions, however, with a jumper by junior forward
Darryl Lawlor and a lay-up by senior guard Clint Allard tying the game at 66
with less than a minute to play.
After the Golden Eagles converted three-of-four from the
foul line, the Tritons called a time-out with five seconds to play. Down three,
it was junior guard Kelvin Kim who would take and draw a foul on a three-point
attempt with no time remaining. Kim won a game last season at the free-throw
line for UCSD, and again came up big, nailing all three free-throws to send the
game into the first overtime period.
“Everyone has great faith in Kelvin’s abilities,” Carlson
said. “Kelvin’s a winner and I think all of us felt very, very calm in terms of
him going to the line and shooting three [free-throws] to get us to overtime.”
While the Tritons would never lead in the first overtime
period, they never trailed by more than four points. Stuck again in a deficit
in the final minute of play, Lawley connected on his third three-pointer of the
game off a Kim pass, cutting the Golden Eagles’ lead to one. A CSULA free-throw
made it a one-possession game with only 13 seconds to play. Junior forward
Shane Poppen hit the offensive glass after a missed jumper by junior guard
Andrew Hatch, collecting one of his career-high 12 rebounds but missed a shot
to tie the game. But junior guard Alan Husted secured the rebound and put it
back for the tying bucket right at the buzzer.
The Tritons would be the only team to lead in the second
overtime period, though never by more than three points, as both squads scored
seven points in the frame and sent it into a third overtime. CSULA pulled away
in the final extra period, outscoring the Tritons 22-13 for the hard-fought
win.
Lawley led five Tritons in double-digit scoring with a
double-double of 20 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. Kim added 18 points,
junior forward Henry Patterson scored 17, Allard had 11 and Husted added 10
points on 4-of-7 shooting off the bench. CSULA countered with six Golden Eagles
scoring double digits, led by a game-high 29 points from Vincent Camper.
Five Tritons would put up double-digit numbers the night
before, with UCSD using two extra periods this time en route to a conference
win. Again UCSD found itself in an early deficit, this time against Cal State
Dominguez Hills. After holding a slim lead in the first minute of play, the
Tritons would trail for much of the half by as many as 10 points. Though able
to climb back in the game, the Tritons were only able to tie and lead for just
five seconds with five minutes left in the half before a 15-6 run gave the
Toros an eight-point lead at the break. The Tritons were able to keep the game
close in the second half, never again allowing CSUDH to take a double-digit
advantage. UCSD would again tie the game briefly midway through the second half
and, though unable to take the lead, never let it get beyond a two-possession
game. The Tritons were finally able to take advantage of remaining within
striking distance as Lawlor knocked down a huge three-point basket with 37
seconds to play that tied the game and proved to be the final bucket in
regulation.
UCSD took its first lead since the first half with 1:19 left
in overtime. The teams traded leads twice over the final minute and headed into
a second extra period after CSUDH’s Danny Tavares converted one-of-two free
throws. Lawlor, having missed a potential game-winner in the first overtime,
took charge in the second, scoring the first five UCSD points on a lay-up and a
three-point basket that put the Tritons ahead for good with 51 seconds left.
Kim made one-of-two free throws, and Hatch made two from the charity stripe to
ice the game as the defense forced two turnovers and held the Toros scoreless
in the final minute.
“The game against CSUDH was a complete team effort,” Lawlor
said. “Everyone stepped up to get done what needed to get done.”
Patterson led UCSD with team highs of 19 points and seven
rebounds while Lawlor’s clutch performance was part of a 16-point evening. The
Tritons were out-rebounded and out-shot throughout the game, but did shoot 50
percent in the overtime periods.
“These games obviously put us through some adversity and it
really shows how deep and good we can be,” Lawlor said. “We have a tough
schedule coming up and we hopefully will learn from this and come out and get
on top of teams from the beginning like we were earlier in the season.”
The Tritons now return home to play their next five games at
RIMAC Arena. UCSD hosts Cal Poly Pomona on Jan. 18 before facing 6th-ranked Cal
State San Bernardino on Jan. 19.
