MEN’S BASKETBALL ‘mdash;’shy; The Tritons made sure to leave RIMAC Arena on a high note after their final home game of the 2008-09 season, and the final collegiate home game of seven seniors’ careers. Competing in their first Division-II playoff game at home, the fourth-seeded Tritons defeated fifth-seeded Humboldt State by a 79-67 final score on March 3 in the first round of the California Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament. With the win, UCSD improves to 17-10 overall, advancing to the CCAA Tournament Semifinals where the Tritons will face host Cal State San Bernardino on March 6.
‘RIMAC provides a special environment for all of us seniors, especially getting to see such a great fan base evolve and become our sixth man out there on the court,’ senior forward Darryl Lawlor said. ‘I personally have so many great memories of great games out there on the court.’
The home fans were treated to another early UCSD lead on Tuesday, with junior guards Jordan Lawley and Tyler Acevedo each connecting from behind the arc in the opening minutes to help key an early five-point lead. Humboldt State’s offense quickly tied the game with 12:06 in the half and took its first lead with 11:19 remaining. After UCSD regained the lead on a three pointer from Lawley, the Lumberjacks responded with a triple of their own.
‘Humboldt does a really good job of making the game up-tempo,’ head coach Chris Carlson said. ‘We didn’t do a good job at times. We really kind of got caught up, forced some things, didn’t handle the ball well at times. I think it comes back to that senior leadership and knowing how to handle [the game] in those situations.’
With the Tritons down by two, Lawlor turned a pass from senior center Brett Stuckey into a quick layup to tie the game at 23. Stuckey then grabbed a defensive board on the other end, leading to a three from senior guard Alan Husted. Top scorer Zac Tiedman recaptured the lead for Humboldt State following two free thr
ows, putting the Lumberjacks up by one.
‘[Humboldt is] always a tough team,’ senior forward Shane Poppen said. ‘They play really hard. They’re really a free-wheeling team on offense, so you’ve got to be disciplined on defense.’
Defense proved key as UCSD held the Lumberjacks scoreless through the final minutes of the half, while Poppen kicked off an 11-0 run with a three-point play. The Tritons went into the half up 10, building from the free-throw line after working their way into the double-bonus.
Senior guard Kelvin Kim started the second half with a three-pointer off a Husted assist. Lawley helped UCSD grab a 15-point advantage, drawing a foul and knocking down two from the line. The Lumberjacks cut the Triton lead down to eight, but UCSD was able to bury them in a game-high 17-point deficit after a three from Lawley. As the team’s leading scorer at 13.5 per game, Lawley scored all nine of UCSD’s points in a three-minute stretch that started with seven minutes remaining.
‘We had to come out with a win,’ Lawley said. ‘None of the seniors are ready to give up the season, and we kind of went out there and played for them. We have seven of them going away and every game right now is for them.’
UCSD went cold from the field with under four minutes in the game, scoring only one point on a Kim free throw as the Lumberjacks closed the gap to six. The Tritons once again demonstrated their ability to make crucial free throws down the stretch as Kim, Husted, Lawley and Poppen each hit from the line and Lawlor came up with a block and steal in the final minute to seal the victory.
‘Our goal was to chase [the Lumberjacks] off the three-point line and force them into contested jumpers,’ Lawlor said. ‘They are a physical team, but we took the fight to them. It was our goal to be tougher than them and tonight I think we were.’
Humboldt struggled offensively, shooting 35.7 percent from the field. Tiedman was held to eight points on 1-for-6 field goal shooting, including 0-for-3 from beyond the arc. The Tritons were better than 50 percent from the field for the second straight game, including 11-for-19 in the second half.
‘We’re a little different [than last year’s CCAA Championship Triton squad],’ Carlson said. ‘We’ve got our own identity. I think we’re actually a little better defensively, probably rely a little bit more on our defense and our rebounding than we did last year. I think when you do that, you have the opportunity to have success every night.’
UCSD was paced by 18 points from Husted, who also finished with four assists and five rebounds. Poppen recorded a double-double of 16 points and 12 boards, Lawley also sank 16 and Kim had 15 points with a game-high five assists. Lawlor came up big off the bench, tallying five points, five assists, three rebounds and three steals.
‘We knew for sure this was our last home game and we went in with the mentality that it’s win or go home, and we don’t want to go home,’ Husted said. ‘Biggest thing we can take from tonight, is we feel that we can beat any team. We’re not done.’
Following the game, three Triton players were honored with All-CCAA recognition for the first time in their careers. Kim was named to the first team after averaging 11.3 points and a team-high 3.8 assists. Poppen’s 11.1 points and 7.7 rebounds, and Lawley’s 13.4 points and 3.5 rebounds earned second-team recognition.
The defending conference champions now turn their attention to second-seeded Cal State San Bernardino, the CCAA’s highest scoring and co-regular season champion. The Tritons and Coyotes face off at 8 p.m. on Friday at Coussoulis Arena, with the winner advancing to the CCAA Championship Game on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. All UCSD post-season games can be followed live on the radio, with a link available at ucsdtritons.com.
Readers can contact Joe Tevelowitz at [email protected].