MEN’S BASKETBALL ‘mdash; The Tritons earned one final home game of the season after defeating Cal State Stanislaus on Feb. 27 and enter postseason play’ as the fourth seed in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. UCSD’s win on Friday was a huge improvement from the 57-60 loss to Chico State on Feb. 26. The 98-68 victory over Cal State Stanislaus gave the Tritons an overall record of 16-10 and a conference mark of 13-7, allowing a team with seven senior players one more chance to play at home.
‘[Home court] was one of the goals we set for ourselves back in the first game of the year,’ head coach Chris Carslon. ‘We’ve worked hard enough and played hard enough throughout the year to earn that opportunity.’
The Tritons will face Humboldt State on March 3 at RIMAC Arena in the first round of the CCAA Championship Tournament. The win over Cal State Stanislaus will give the program its first home playoff game at the Division-II level.
‘I think it’s great ‘mdash; there’s nothing more we can ask for, just putting ourselves in this position to play one more at home,’ senior guard Kelvin Kim said. ‘It’d be great if we can have a win in our last home game to send it off right.’
Carlson’s squad put together a less-than-stellar first half at Cal State Stanislaus, shooting 29.6 percent from the field during the opening 20 minutes. UCSD held a six-point advantage, its biggest lead of the first half, after a layup by senior forward Shane Poppen at the 13:42 mark. Unfortunately, the Tritons did not convert another field goal for over six minutes as the Warriors rolled off a 14-2 run. Junior guard Tyler Acevedo ended the dry spell with a three-pointer to pull the team to within three. Acevedo was just heating up, connecting on two more three-pointers ‘mdash; his third and fourth of the opening half ‘mdash; on consecutive possessions around the two-minute mark. His fourth three-pointer, off an assist from junior guard Jordan Lawley, gave the Tritons a two-point advantage they were able to maintain, heading into the break 30-28.
‘We were playing down to their level,’ Kim said. ‘I don’t think we were ready to play.’
UCSD came out ready in the second half,
turning its two-point lead into a double-digit advantage. UCSD scored the first seven points and senior center A.J. Maulhardt put in back-to-back layups, giving the Tritons a 44-32 lead with 16:35 left in the game. After two Warrior free throws reduced the visitor lead to eight, another Acevedo three-pointer kicked off an 8-0 UCSD run.
Cal State Stanislaus cut the Triton lead to single digits again following a quick 6-0 run of its own that made the score 60-51. This time, the Triton response was one of the season’s most ferocious. In less than five minutes, UCSD scored 20 points, allowing only a layup and one free throw from the opposition. Poppen’s dunk and Acevedo’s seventh three-pointer placed a fitting exclamation point on the effort, putting the Tritons ahead by 26.
‘What we really did a good job of was a simple concept ‘mdash; just passing and catching,’ Carlson said. ‘We found the open guy, made the extra pass.’
The 98 points marked UCSD’s highest offensive output since last season’s triple overtime game at Cal State Los Angeles. The margin of victory was also the program’s largest since the 2005-06 season.
‘We ended the regular season off on a really good note,’ Kim said. ‘The biggest thing [prior to Tuesday night’s meeting with Humboldt] is just being ready for the game. Coming in focused, playing with a sense of urgency, knowing that it’s do-or-die from here on out. Just keep that on our mind and hopefully use that as motivation for the next few games.’
Acevedo led all scorers with a career-high 23 points on 7-of-10 three-point shooting. As a team, the Tritons finished with their highest shooting percentage of the season, 55.9 percent from the field, after shooting an astonishing 78.1 percent (25-for-32) in the second half. Cal State Stanislaus was held to below 40 percent from the field, committed 17 turnovers and was out-rebounded, 39-27.
The Tritons also secured an early lead on Thursday night at Chico State, scoring seven of the first nine points in the game. After a layup by Chico State’s Andy Bocian, the CCAA’s leading scorer, UCSD went on a 7-0 run to take its biggest lead of the game at nine with less than 10 minutes left in the first half. The Tritons maintained a lead through the rest of the half, until a three-point play by the Wildcats with six seconds remaining tied the score at 24 heading into the break.
UCSD was unable to extend its advantage over the Wildcats early in the second period, never grabbing a double-digit lead. Chico State stunned the Tritons with a 10-0 run to end the game. UCSD committed three turnovers in the final three minutes, settling for a split in the season series with the Wildcats.
‘The last three minutes, we just didn’t get things done, and [Chico State] did,’ Carlson said. ‘We missed open shots close to the basket. We didn’t finish plays very well, and they did.’
Poppen and Lawley each scored 16 points, with Poppen adding a game-high 12 rebounds.
With the regular season finished, the Tritons now turn their attention to their first playoff opponent.
‘We’ve got our hands full on Tuesday,’ Carlson said. ‘We expect to have really good preparation heading into Tuesday because we’re playing a very, very good opponent in Humboldt … I always feel like if we do a good job defending, rebounding and taking care of the ball, I like our chances.’
Readers can contact Joe Tevelowitz at [email protected].