From Monday, Nov. 24, to Wednesday, Nov. 26, UC San Diego men’s basketball (7-0, 0-0 Big West) traveled to Kissimmee, Florida, for the Terry’s Chocolate ESPN Events Invitational. The Tritons swept their competition, defeating Temple 91-76, Bradley 87-77, and Towson 87-73. In the inaugural edition of Three Pointers, Sports Co-Editor Alan Zhang breaks down his three biggest takeaways from the week.
Shoot the rock
On their first day in Kissimmee, the Tritons shot over 40% from deep. They did that again the next day. And the day after that.
Across three days of competition, the Tritons made 40 of 77 3-point attempts — just over half their threes of the weekend. In the tournament final against Towson, the Tritons shot 64% from deep, their best against a Division-I opponent.
Two unlikely players have emerged as sharpshooters, joining established 3-point maestros junior guard Aidan Burke and sophomore guard Alex Chaikin. Redshirt junior forward Leo Beath leads the team in 3-point field goals after shooting only 32% from deep for Division-II Lynn last year. Meanwhile, junior guard Tom Beattie has made nearly the same number of threes this season as he did all of last season at Hawai’i.
While it’s unlikely that the Tritons will continue to make over half of their 3-point attempts for the rest of the season — if they do, they would be the greatest shooting team of all time — this hot start bodes well for a new-look Triton team that has found its offensive identity relatively quickly.
Deep thoughts
In the Tritons’ win against Towson, nine different players made a triple, tying a Division-I record. The remarkable feat, part of a brilliant shooting performance to close out their time in Florida, highlights a 2025-26 Triton bench that runs deep.
UCSD’s main bench contributors have shown their ability to provide a spark. Chaikin can knock down threes at will, averaging 9.1 points per game while shooting 40.5% from deep. Freshman guard Hudson Mayes is a walking highlight reel, with his speed and physicality allowing him to attack the rim with ease. Mayes averages 7.7 points per game on 76.9% shooting from the field.
The tournament also saw the emergence of redshirt freshman guard Trap Johnson, who spent the early part of the season dealing with injury. After a tame 2-point outing against Temple, he scored eight apiece against Bradley and Towson.
The Tritons’ bench-scoring marks a significant improvement from the previous season, when UCSD ranked near the bottom of Division I with only 16.3 bench points per game. This season, they’re around the middle of the pack, averaging 25.9.
Margin of error
In 2024-25, the Tritons led the nation in turnover margin, committing 7.2 per game fewer turnovers than their opponents. Their ability to take care of the ball while forcing opponents to be sloppy was the key to their March Madness run. However, seven games into the season, the Tritons have given up 10.6 turnovers per game while opponents committed 12.1, a departure from last year’s heights.
The Tritons still rank at the top among Big West teams in turnovers. In Florida, their record was particularly impressive, with their nine turnovers against Bradley marking a high across the three days.
Though they have been able to hold onto the ball themselves, the Tritons seem to be unable to snatch the ball away from their opponents on defense. This inability to force turnovers hasn’t proven to be a major issue for the Tritons so far, as they’ve been able to outshoot most of their opponents by significant margins. As UCSD faces tougher competition deeper into its nonconference schedule, improving its turnover margin could make the difference between a good Triton team and a great Triton team.
