MEN’S BASKETBALL — Following blowout losses to Sonoma State and conference leader Humboldt State, the UCSD men’s basketball team continued its slide over the weekend. The Tritons were crushed 83-60 on Thursday night before Humboldt stifled the Triton offense for a 69-44 win.

The Tritons had a rough game defensively against Sonoma, as the Seawolves had five players in double figures and shot 51 percent from the floor. Ben Washington had 18 points, James Sandoval added 16 more and the home team handed the Tritons their worst loss of the season.

The Seawolves have the second-best offense in the conference, and showed why in the second half as they outscored the Tritons 45-31.

The lone bright spot for the Tritons was center Christian Hatch, who had a double-double with 10 rebounds and a game-high 19 points. No other Triton scored in double figures, and the Tritons had 17 turnovers that turned into 22 Sonoma points.

The Tritons had their worst offensive game of the season Saturday night at Humboldt State as they shot a paltry 29 percent from the floor. UCSD trailed by just five points at the half, but was outscored 42-22 in the second period as Humboldt pulled away.

Hatch and sophomore forward Justin Brue went 2-19 from the field, and the Tritons could not keep pace with the Lumberjacks, who shot 53 percent on the game. The Tritons were also out-rebounded 39-27.

Randy Hunter led the Lumberjacks with a game-high 17 points and eight rebounds. Casey Ryan had 12 points and six rebounds for the Tritons, while James McCann added 10 points.

UCSD now has lost five straight games, and seven out of the last eight. The Tritons entered the weekend in a tie for eighth place and the final CCAA Tournament bid, but moved down to 10th place with the losses. Humboldt moved into a tie atop the conference standings with the win.

The Tritons are now 9-11 overall and 4-10 in conference play. UCSD is just 1-7 in conference road games this season, but enters into a four-game home stand this week. The Tritons will face San Francisco State on Thursday before hosting Cal State Monterey Bay on Spirit Night on Saturday. Both games will tip off at 7:30 p.m.

Readers can contact Liam Rose at [email protected]