MEN’S BASKETBALL — The UCSD men’s basketball team finished
its final regular season home weekend with a split against conference opponents
and a short stay tied atop the California Collegiate Athletic Association
standings. The Tritons held on for their sixth straight victory, a 64-63 win
over Cal State Los Angeles on Feb. 15. With that victory and an upset loss by Cal
State San Bernardino, UCSD climbed to a first-place tie with the Coyotes in the
CCAA. Unfortunately, the Tritons were unable to use the momentum from the
Senior Night ceremony on Feb. 16 in their game against Cal State Dominguez
Hills, falling by a 61-46 final score. UCSD now holds a 15-7 overall record,
11-5 in league competition, and is tied with
After honoring seniors Clint Allard, Jason Bull, Andrew
Hatch, Henry Patterson and Jon Ward prior to the game, the Tritons found
themselves in a defensive battle against CSUDH. With both teams playing
physically, the Toros defensive pressure stalled UCSD’s offense. After a
Jerrell Smith free throw put CSUDH up by nine, two Allard three-pointers in the
final
Tritons within two possessions, 27-21, heading to the break.
“[CSUDH’s] pressure got us out of what we do,” Allard said.
“When we face a team that pressures all over the floor, we haven’t been very
successful. That’s something we’ve got to work on.”
Allard opened the second-half scoring for UCSD to pull the
Tritons within four points. After three CSUDH free-throws, the Tritons strung
together a 7-0 run from two layups by Henry Patterson and a three-pointer by
junior guard Kelvin Kim that tied the game at 30 with
tie for the Tritons, as head coach Chris Carlson’s squad was unable to take the
lead. UCSD would stay within striking range for most of the half, but one of
six blocked UCSD shots in the game led to a layup on the other end and gave the
Toros their first-double-digit lead of the game, 48-27, with
than eight points and trailed by as many as 19 in the loss.
Neither team shot very well from the field, with CSUDH
converting 40 percent of their shots compared to 34.1 percent for the Tritons.
UCSD also struggled from the charity stripe, converting only 11-of-23 attempts,
compared to 14-of-19 for the Toros.
“We have all the respect in the world for [CSUDH],” said
Allard, who scored 14 points. “Since the last time they played us — a
double-overtime UCSD win in
— they’ve been playing some of the best basketball in the league. They made
shots and we didn’t.”
Patterson was the only other Triton in double-digits with 11
points, while also grabbing four boards. Sophomore guard Jordan Lawley led the
team with eight rebounds in the game.
The Tritons dug themselves in another hole against CSULA on
Feb. 15. Scoring only three points in the first seven minutes of the game, the
Tritons found themselves down by as much as eight. However, junior forward
Darryl Lawlor’s three-pointer off an assist by junior center A.J. Maulhardt
keyed a 21-6 UCSD run. Junior guard Alan Husted connected on two threes during
that stretch and Patterson added a jumper and layups on consecutive
possessions. The Golden Eagles closed within two points, but playing patient
basketball allowed UCSD to stretch the lead to eight at the half.
“The toughest aspect was probably on the defensive end,”
Lawley said. “We kind of wavered there in the beginning. We couldn’t really get
a stop on their key players.”
CSULA, having defeated UCSD earlier in the season at home in
a triple-overtime contest, climbed back in the second half. Holding the Tritons
scoreless for almost four minutes, the Golden Eagles tied the game at 44 with
with a three-pointer on the ensuing possession as the Tritons began to extend
their lead again.
The Tritons seemed in a favorable possession following a
three-pointer from Husted as they held an eight-point advantage, 60-52, with
under six minutes to play. However, the Golden Eagles took advantage of four
missed free-throws to climb back into the game, connecting on a three-pointer
with 44 seconds remaining to come within one possession, 64-61. After a missed
layup by Kim on the other end, CSULA had a chance to tie. CSULA guard Vincent
Camper, who was 2-of-3 from three-point range at the time, missed on a tying
opportunity, but Golden Eagles forward Demetrius Hazel grabbed the rebound and
put it back in to pull the team within one. Carlson called time-out with just
over one second left and drew up an inbounds play that got Husted the ball on the
run and dribble out the final seconds.
“This came down to a grind-it-out finish,” Husted said.
“These are the games that help us out down the line, these one-point victories.
We have a great group of guys. The great thing about this team is we’re one unit.
It’s just a great feeling [to be doing so well] and we hope to be able to keep
it up.”
While converting only 9-of-25 shots in the second-half, the
Tritons went 8-of-15 from three-point range and committed only nine turnovers.
Patterson led the way with 18 points and five rebounds, while Husted scored 13
points in 18 minutes off the bench.
“We beat a very, very good team tonight,” Carlson said. “It
wasn’t always pretty, but that’s what I think good teams do. They find a way to
win.”
The Tritons will finish off their remaining regular season
games on the road, beginning Feb. 22 at No. 19 Cal State San Bernardino and
continuing Feb. 23 at Cal Poly Pomona. UCSD will have a chance to return home
to host the quarterfinals of the CCAA Tournament if they end the season ranked
in the conference’s top four.
“It’s been a great career here,” Allard said. “This is
everything I could have dreamed of. Hopefully we’ll be back here for another
home game. I just love my teammates; I love all the families and all the fans
that come out to support us. I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
