On Saturday, Nov. 8, UC San Diego men’s basketball (2-0, 0-0 Big West) defeated Houston Christian (1-1, 0-0, Southland) in a fast-paced but comfortable 78-60 victory.
The Tritons arrived at the homecoming matchup after two underwhelming wins on home soil: an exhibition against Division-II Cal State San Marcos on Oct. 24 and the season-opener against Division-III La Verne on Monday, Nov. 3. Facing the Cougars, however, the Tritons delivered a confident double-digit victory against their first Division-I competitor of the season.
“I was just so proud of our approach, knowing that it was going to be a step up a level, a step up in intensity,” head coach Clint Allard said in a postgame interview with The UCSD Guardian.
The Tritons were able to take an early 4-point lead, but a poor shooting stretch where UCSD missed five straight field goals allowed the Huskies to go on a 9-0 run.
“We were missing some shots early,” Allard admitted. “It’s going to come and go.”
Midway through the first half, the Tritons pulled ahead — a lead they maintained for the rest of the game. Redshirt junior forward Cade Pendleton played a critical role in the half, scoring 9 points in two minutes in a 3-pointer frenzy. With eight minutes remaining in the period, Pendleton scored an effortless triple as the shot clock hit zero, bringing the score to 20-17.
“So happy with Cade — he gave us a spark,” Allard said. “He came in, knocked down some threes; he knows what to do out there, all the time. With the pretty aggressive defensive coverage that they had, he was able to keep the ball moving for the offense, protect the rim defensively, [and] get some really good rebounds. His first stint when he came in and made some shots and calmed us down was huge for our team.”
The Tritons maintained their lead in the second half thanks to some impressive shots, including a cinematic dunk by junior forward Leo Beath in the first five minutes. Junior guard Tom Beattie put on a stellar performance, scoring 12 points in the second half alone and reaching a career-high total of 18 points in the game. Beattie also led the team with six rebounds and four assists, establishing himself as a crucial part of the Triton lineup early this season.
“We have 16 people in our roster, and I think all 16 can play,” Beattie said to The Guardian. “I think we have such a good diversity of people, players, rotations. I think every game you might see a different rotation, and that’s just the way our team is.”
Offensively, the Tritons have become more confident and aggressive with their shots, helping them run up the score on the Huskies en route to their 78-60 victory. Defensively, however, they still have a long way to go — lacking speed and aggression. UCSD was less combative in attempts to steal the ball and tended to be cautious when rebounding.
“I don’t think we’re a finished product at all,” Beattie said. “We’re a good offensive team, [but] if the defense comes, we’re going to be hard to stop.”
Early defensive struggles were also problematic for UCSD last season, where during its first four games, a struggling Triton defense allowed opponents an effective field-goal percentage of 57.4%. By the end of the season, that number was down to 47.8% — second best in the Big West.
The Tritons will head north to face off against Fresno State on Wednesday, Nov. 12, before returning to LionTree Arena to play Idaho on Saturday, Nov. 15.
