Men’s Basketball — Despite back-to-back losses on the road
and a season-high three straight losses, UCSD remained in the upper-echelon of
the California Collegiate Athletic Association with hopes of hosting a
first-round playoff game. The Tritons fell by a 70-55 final score to conference
leader and 20th-ranked Cal State San Bernardino on Feb. 22 and dropped a close
78-76 decision to Cal Poly Pomona on Feb. 23. UCSD now holds a 15-9 record
overall and 11-7 league mark with two games left in the regular season.
Despite shooting only 35 percent in the first half, UCSD was
able to build an early lead against the Broncos and stay in front for most of
the period. Cal Poly Pomona responded, connecting on a blistering 63.2 percent
of their first-half field goals. The Broncos built a slight six-point lead at
the half, with three of their four three-pointers before the break coming on
consecutive possessions with less than four minutes to play.
The Tritons would trail by 11 just 4:11 into the second
half, but junior forward Darryl Lawlor and junior guard Alan Husted connected
on three-pointers to keep the game close. Though unable to tie the game, UCSD
trailed by no more than seven down the stretch. Down six in the final minute,
senior guard Clint Allard converted a rare four-point play to keep the Triton
comeback hopes alive.
“In that situation we just needed to score as quickly as
possible, preferably a three, and I took the shot when I had some room, held my
follow through, and was lucky enough to have the defender run into me after the
release,” Allard said.
Following two Bronco free throws, Allard connected again
from behind the arc to make it a one-point game with 7.8 seconds remaining.
UCSD was able to quickly foul and put the Broncos’ Angelo Tsagarakis on the
line. Tsagarakis converted only one-of-two and Husted hit Allard with an outlet
pass. Unfortunately, the Triton magic ended there as Allard’s final field goal
attempt was blocked, and Cal Poly Pomona escaped with the two-point home win.
“In hindsight, I should have made a different decision in
the situation,” said Allard, who led UCSD with a game-high 22 points while
adding six rebounds and two assists. “Hopefully, I will make a better decision
if we get that shot again. I still like the ball in my hands [in pressure
situations].”
UCSD converted 47.2 percent of its field goal attempts and
52.2 percent of its three-point attempts but allowed a 62.2-percent shooting
performance from the Broncos. Cal Poly Pomona also out-rebounded the Tritons,
30-27, and recorded five blocked shots in the game. Lawlor and senior guard
Andrew Hatch joined Allard in double-digit scoring with 16 and 12 points,
respectively. Lawlor added a game-high seven rebounds, while Hatch and junior
guard Kelvin Kim tied for the team-lead with three assists each.
UCSD and CCAA leader Cal State San Bernardino experienced
five lead changes early in their matchup the night before. The Coyotes were
able to distance themselves midway through the half, holding the Tritons
scoreless for over three minutes and extending their lead to seven points.
Sophomore guard Jordan Lawley started a 9-2 UCSD run that tied the game at 23
with a three-pointer of his own and an assist on the first of two consecutive
Allard threes. The Coyotes responded with their own short run and were able to
take a six-point lead at the half. Unfortunately, the Tritons would get no
closer than two possessions in the second half with CSUSB holding a
double-digit advantage most of the period en route to the final 15 point
advantage.
“[The Coyotes] are a very good team that can beat you with a
lot of different guys both inside and outside,” said Allard, who again led UCSD
by scoring with 13 points. “They did whatever they wanted to offensively and we
didn’t put up much resistance.”
Lawley added 11 points and a team-high four assists, while
Kim scored 10 points and tied the team-high with three rebounds. The Tritons
shot 47.2 percent from the field, but again allowed their opponents greater
offensive efficiency, as the Coyotes connected on 26-of-44 from the field and
9-of-18 from three-point range. UCSD again lost the rebounding battle, 22-18,
and committed 18 turnovers, compared to 14 for CSUSB.
“We really just had to step up the defensive intensity and
take away some of the things we know [CSUSB] likes to do, namely feeding the
post and offensive rebounding,” Allard said. “We let the teams shoot way to
good of a percentage this weekend, and we have to try to make our opponents
uncomfortable. Plus, our defense feeds into our offense when we are playing
well, so that is the basis for the success of our team.”
The Tritons will conclude their regular season and attempt
to secure a home playoff game as they travel to
today and
on Feb. 29. Both games are slated for
tip-offs. UCSD will clinch a home game in the CCAA Tournament Quarterfinals
with either a weekend sweep or one win and help from other conference members.
