MEN’S BASKETBALL ‘mdash; One year ago, Cal State San Bernardino’s Coussoulis Arena was filled with a jubilant UCSD team. The Tritons battled from the seventh seed all the way to the CCAA Tournament Championship game, pulling their third upset in three games to win the program’s first-ever conference championship. Players, including the entire nucleus of this year’s squad, and fans celebrated with then-first-year head coach Chris Carlson as the Tritons defeated Cal State San Bernardino, San Francisco State and Cal Poly Pomona in one week to earn their first-ever berth into the NCAA Division-II Tournament.
The UC
SD men’s basketball team again reached the culmination of its season at Coussoulis Arena on Friday, but the squad was unable to repeat as CCAA champions, falling in the semifinals to host Cal State San Bernardino 76-72. The eventual CCAA champion Coyotes improved to 19-9, leaving UCSD with a 17-11 overall record.
‘Tonight was a great college basketball game, it really was,’ head coach Chris Carlson said. ‘I thought we performed at a high level, just not quite high enough.’
The Tritons worked to take the San Bernardino crowd out of the game early, grabbing a 16-9 advantage in the first half following a three-pointer by senior guard Alan Husted off a pass from freshman guard Jay Wey. Cal State San Bernardino cut the advantage to two, before Husted turned a steal into two free throws. Senior forward Brett Stuckey followed up with a steal and a three-pointer, pushing the lead to seven. The Coyotes then went scoreless for over three minutes before an 8-0 run, punctured by CCAA Newcomer of the Year Brandon Brown’s three-point play with 4:05 left in the half.
‘Brown was definitely a tough challenge and he played very well,’ senior forward Shane Poppen said.
Trailing for the first time in the game, the Tritons fell by as much as six with one minute remaining in the half. Junior forward Jordan Lawley helped UCSD take back some momentum, hitting his second three of the half following an assist by senior guard and All-CCAA First Team Honoree Kelvin Kim. Senior forward Darryl Lawlor helped cut the lead to one, converting an assist by junior guard Tyler Acevedo for a layup right before halftime.
Brown led the Coyotes out of the gates in the second half, scoring seven of his team-high 22 points in the first six and a half minutes of the final period. Following another successful three-point play from Brown, UCSD found itself down eight with 13:31 left in the game. Lawley and Husted responded by each connecting on a three-pointer to again cut the Tritons’ deficit down to one possession.
Cal State San Bernardino fired right back, putting together a 13-4 run on its home court that gave the regular season CCAA co-champs an 11 point lead. The Tritons responded with a layup, offensive rebound and two free throws from Poppen and a layup from Kim.
‘Our team plays with heart every time we step on the court ‘mdash; whether it be a practice or a game,’ Poppen said.’ ‘With a senior-heavy lineup, we made sure that we gave everything that we possibly could to win the game.’
Down eight points with 4:45 remaining, Kim knocked down a three off a Poppen assist and then set up Husted’s triple on the Tritons’ following trip down the court. Poppen, an All-CCAA second team member, tied the game on a layup with 3:01 remaining. After Cal State San Bernardino hit a three on the other end, Lawley responded with his fifth bucket from behind the arc, sending Triton fans into a frenzy.
With less than two minutes remaining, the Coyotes retook the lead on a jumper in the lane. Kim had a chance to give UCSD its first lead of the second half, but his three was just off the mark. After two free throws from All-CCAA First Team member Devin Montgomery, four-year Tritons Lawlor and Poppen teamed up for one more perfectly executed play. Lawlor’s pass inside set up an easy Poppen layup as the Tritons cut the deficit to two with 19 seconds remaining. Montgomery hit 1-of-2 from the line on the other end and the Tritons had two chances to tie. Unfortunately, Husted’s three missed and Kim’s attempt from beyond the arc following a clutch offensive rebound was off as well.
Lawley, who joined Kim and Poppen as first-time recipients of All-CCAA honors, scored a game-high 24 points, connecting on five of nine from three-point range. Poppen and Husted each scored 16 points, with Poppen adding a game-high eight rebounds. Kim concluded his collegiate career with seven points, a game-high six assists and three rebounds.
‘[The seniors] have absolutely set a tone for this program, every single one of them,’ Carlson said following the final collegiate games for seniors Husted, Kim, Poppen, Lawlor, Stuckey, Patrick Dreith and A.J. Malhaurdt. ‘There’s guys like Kelvin and Shane, guys who have played a ton of minutes. Patrick Dreith didn’t play a ton of minutes for us, but always came to practice with his head up and worked his tail off. They are such great representatives for our university. Every one of them takes the term student-athlete to heart.’
UCSD shot 46.2 percent from the field, including 42.3 percent from three-point range as its 11 threes matched a season-high. The Tritons were undone by an incredible shooting performance from the Coyotes, who shot a blistering 61.5 percent from the field in the second half and finished 27-for-47 for the game.
Despite having defeated Humboldt State twice during the season, including during the first round of the CCAA Tournament, the Lumberjacks were selected as the West Region’s eighth seed, while UCSD was left on the outside looking in, failing to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.
‘I came in as a tall, lanky freshman who thought I knew what it meant to be a college basketball player,’ Poppen said. ‘I quickly learned how hard you must work to contribute and be successful at this level. Our team was very young when I was a freshman and it was amazing to see the progress and how we learned from our experience to eventually win the CCAA tourney and host a postseason game. This team has worked so hard, but most importantly we have stuck together through everything.’
With their 2008-09 season at an end, the Tritons are already looking ahead to next year.
‘There’s a legacy that’s been set here in the last two years,’ Carlson said. ‘To get back to this game and be able to win it, we have a lot of work to do. I like our talent level, I like where we’re at as a program and we just have got to keep working our tails off.’
The 2008-09 Tritons recorded the program’s highest finish (fourth) and best record in the CCAA (13-7), its highest regular-season record in Division II history (16-10) and had three players awarded All-CCAA recognition for the first time. The team also won its first-ever home playoff game.
‘It’s those things you talk about, way back during your first meeting in September,’ Carlson said. ‘You never ever, ever quit. There’s just no stopping this team’s effort and I think that showed [against Cal State San Bernardino]. I’m just so proud to be their head coach. They make me proud, they really do.’
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