Four weeks into the season, UCSD men’s basketball (6-0, 0-0 Big West) has yet to lose — and shows no signs of doing so anytime soon. On Tuesday, Nov. 25, Bradley (3-4, 0-0 Missouri Valley) looked to put the Tritons’ unbeaten streak to an end, but an early Braves lead quickly evaporated. Late attempts from Bradley sophomore guard Jaquan Johnson — who finished the game with 29 points — were not enough to retake the lead, as the Tritons walked out of the Terry’s Chocolate ESPN Events Invitational semifinal with a 87-77 victory.
Bradley jumped out to an early 13-4 lead as the Tritons struggled to find their footing. UCSD quickly recovered; back-to-back triples from junior guard Aidan Burke saw the Tritons take the lead for the first time in the game. UCSD built on that lead just minutes later, going on an 8-0 run to end the half. A 3-pointer from redshirt junior forward Leo Beath with three seconds remaining gave the Tritons a 44-33 cushion going into the break. Beath ended the game with a team-high 26 points on 8-for-14 shooting — his second outing with 25 or more points in 30 hours.
“He’s such a matchup problem, and he’s really shot it well these last couple days, which opens up everything for his game,” head coach Clint Allard said to The UCSD Guardian in a postgame interview. “If he can stretch you out to the [3-point line] and make you guard him outside of 23 feet, then he’s really tough to stop.”
A late 11-2 run for the Braves shrank the lead down to two with two minutes left in the game. However, a three from junior guard Tom Beattie and a beautiful drive and finish from freshman guard Hudson Mayes sealed the Braves’ fate. The Tritons ultimately ran out the clock to an 87-77 victory.
“I think there were some lapses toward the end of the game,” Burke said to The Guardian. “It all comes down to staying solid, doing what we’ve been doing the whole game, and things are going to work out.”
Although the Tritons made the same number of field goals as Bradley, they made up the difference at the free-throw line. Bradley finished the game with 23 fouls compared to the Tritons’ 13, and the Tritons entered bonus territory by the midway point of both halves.
The calls were met with jeers from a large contingent of Bradley fans, who made their disapproval known after every call against the Braves. They were joined in their frustration by Bradley head coach Brian Wardle, who received a technical foul in the second half.
“You just got to use that to fuel you,” Burke said. “If they’re talking smack, you just got to play the way you play, and you’ll show them they’re wrong.”
The Tritons will close out their time in Kissimmee, Florida, on Wednesday, Nov. 26, against Towson for their third game in three days.
“We’re gonna have to play our basketball,” Allard said. “We know it’s going to be another physical game, but we’re going to share the ball offensively and be physical defensively and try to protect the paint and finish on the glass.”
