On Friday night against Dominguez, the Tritons were forced to erase a 10 point second-half deficit to get the win. UCSD trailed by seven with 5:22 remaining, but went on a 6-0 run to get within one point. With 1:05 left on the clock, James McCann was fouled on a three-point attempt, and the freshman point guard hit all three of his free throws to give the Tritons a 60-58 lead — their first of the second half. After trading free throws, Dominguez missed a three at the buzzer to give the Tritons the victory.
The Toros have lost three of their last six after starting the season 16-1, but remain in second place in the conference standings.
“We’re a group that played some tough games early,” head coach Chris Carlson said. “When you play a tough schedule you don’t really fear a lot. We respect everyone but we fear no one. Dominguez is a program that we have a lot of respect for and they’re obviously very good. But its not like we go in there feeling like we can’t have some success if we do the things we’re capable of doing.”
Forward Justin Brue had 17 points and five rebounds to lead the Tritons, while reserve guard Tyler McGrath added 13 points.
Against Cal State LA, the Tritons held a 53-43 lead with 9:15 left to play, but the Golden Eagles finished the game on a 12-3 run to snatch the victory. Cal State LA didn’t allow the Tritons to make a field goal in the final 4:40 of the game. The Tritons lost despite shooting nearly 49 percent for the game.
“We weren’t able to execute very well against their press, and in a couple of key moments in terms of getting a defensive rebound we weren’t able to secure the ball,” Carlson said. “We just had some things that really didn’t go our way.”
Brue had 17 points for the second consecutive game, and Casey Ryan added 10 points and 15 rebounds. Junior center Christian Hatch added 14 points.
Franklin Session had 20 points, and Chris Robinson added 20 of his own off the bench to lead the Golden Eagles.
The Tritons fall to 11-15 overall and 6-14 in the CCAA. UCSD needs to win its two remaining games — road games against Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State San Bernardino — and get some help in order to take the eighth spot in conference for the final berth into the CCAA tournament.
The Tritons will play at Pomona on Friday and at San Bernardino on Saturday, with both games at 7:30 p.m.
Readers can contact Liam Rose at [email protected]
