The UC San Diego men’s basketball team defeated Cal State Monterey Bay, 86–80, on Thursday, Jan. 11. With this victory over the Otters, the Tritons improve to 8–2 in California Collegiate Athletic Association play, bringing their winning streak to a five-game total.

In a rather uncharacteristic game, the Tritons were outshot from behind the arc. UCSD attempted 19 threes compared to Cal State Monterey Bay’s 27 threes. Instead, the Tritons did their damage from the free-throw line, tallying 27 points off free-throws over the Otters’ 11 points.

Three Tritons scored in double-digits, providing much of the fuel for UCSD’s offense: junior guard Christian Bayne scored 19, junior guard/forward Christian Oshita scored 12, and senior guard Anthony Ballestero scored 15.

Cal State Monterey Bay’s only lead came in the first four minutes of the game, until an and-one by Bayne tied the game for the Tritons at the 16:03 mark in the first half. Rebounding an Otter three-pointer, Bayne pushed the ball ahead to senior forward Michael Shoemaker for a layup. Shoemaker’s basket at the 15:39 mark gave the Tritons the lead and UCSD never looked back.

UCSD’s lead grew to as much as 20 and fell to as little as five during the second half. However, every Cal State Monterey Bay basket was met with baskets by UCSD, preventing any serious rally by the Otters.