In its last home game of the season, UC San Diego men’s basketball (21-9, 11-7 Big West) celebrated Senior Night on Saturday with an 80-64 win against the Cal Poly Mustangs (13-17, 9-9 Big West) at LionTree Arena. Putting in one of their best defensive performances of the season, the Tritons warded off the quick-footed Mustangs and continued their five-game winning streak.
“We knew it was the last home game, and we always love it here,” redshirt junior forward Leo Beath said in a postgame interview. “It feels great to hear cheers after a good play and such, and it helps a lot.”
After a turbulent first half of conference play, the Tritons seem to have finally exorcised their rebounding and intentional shooting woes. Tallying 39 rebounds and shooting a field-goal average of 46%, UCSD found its footing and managed to lead the game for 34 out of 40 minutes.
“We have a lot of respect for Cal Poly and how good of a team they are; [they] may be playing the best in the league,” head coach Clint Allard said in a postgame interview. “So I thought our preparation was great. … [The] coaching staff … did an awesome job preparing our guys, and then our guys played with a lot of energy. It was a complete team effort.”
While the Tritons dominated for the majority of the game, the teams went shot for shot in the first five minutes until the top scorers of the first half, freshman guard Hudson Mayes and freshman forward Jaden Vance, helped the Tritons jumpstart a 13-0 run. At their peak, during the final seconds of the first half, the Tritons led the Mustangs by 18 points.
“[Vance has been] playing with a ton of confidence, and you know, he’s able to really contest things defensively,” Allard said. “That’s really good for us, like contesting shots, contesting passes, just making them uncomfortable, which is … something that we did well on the defensive side, and Jaden was a big part of that.”
In the second half, UCSD hit a few lulls that allowed the Mustangs to outrun the Tritons’ defense, managing to find open gaps to go on three separate 5-point runs. Ultimately, though, UCSD was able to snap back into action and play more aggressively.
The Tritons fueled their defensive success by seizing the ball from the Mustangs, whether it be through steals or rebounding. Beath led the team with seven rebounds and tied for the most steals with Mayes and junior guard Tom Beattie — two each.
To round out the Tritons on the offensive side, 3-point sharpshooter sophomore guard Alex Chaikin led the team in points and 3-pointers.
“Defense fuels our offense [and gets] us in transition to help us score, but it was all about defense,” Beath said to The UCSD Guardian in a postgame interview. “This team scores a lot of points against a lot of other teams, and pulling what we did was big.”
Saturday’s victory marked graduate student guard Emanuel Prospere II’s last time playing at LionTree Arena. Prospere, the only graduating athlete from this year’s lineup, suffered an injury in January that has limited his playtime and forced him to sit out of the starting lineup.
“He was the guy we were able to honor tonight,” Allard said. “He always oozes positivity. He’s like smiles all the time, and he’s a great basketball player. … I’m really proud of him all season, and obviously him coming through with, you know, double figures and kind of limited minutes, as he’s still coming out from injury.”
Beath also expressed his happiness in seeing Prospere return to the court.
“We love that guy so much,” Beath said. “We just want the best for him; it’s special to see that. We’re all really happy for him. He’s happy too, so it makes us feel good.”
UCSD’s 80-64 victory over Cal Poly marked sweet revenge for the Tritons. The last time the two met on Jan. 1, the Tritons fell to the Mustangs 67-65. With only two conference games left before flying to Henderson, Nevada, for the Big West Championship, this final week of conference play will determine what seed the Tritons get next week.
“We still got work to do between now and then, and we’ve put ourselves in a place where we … can control some of our seeding,” Allard said. “[We have] big games next week against two teams that beat us. So, that’ll be our focus. … It’s a great experience to play postseason basketball in Henderson, and I know we’re going to be up for the challenge.”
This week, the Tritons will travel north to play Cal State Fullerton on Thursday, March 5, followed by UC Santa Barbara on Sunday, March 7 — their last regular season game.
