KAILUA KONA, Hawaii ? The UC San Diego men's basketball team suffered a hard fought 75-69 loss to the University of Hawaii Hilo on Saturday evening in the first game of the Coconut Coast Classic hosted by the Vulcans. With the loss the Tritons fall to 1-6 on the season while UHH improves to 5-3.

After trailing by as many as 13 in the first half, head coach Bill Carr's squad battled back and took a four point lead, 65-61, with 3:42 remaining in the second half on a 3-pointer from Clint Allard. UCSD held a narrow 3-point lead with only 2:54 to go in the game before the Vulcans went on an 11-2 run to finish out the game and pull out the 6-point victory.

Allard led the UCSD offense with 16 points on the night while freshmen Shane Poppen and Darryl Lawlor added 15 and 14, respectively. Odioh Odiye rounded out the Triton scorers in double digits, pouring in a season-high 13 in the loss. Poppen had a game-high six rebounds while Allard dished out a game-high seven assists.

Justin Griffin had a game-high 18 points for UHH in the win while Travis Sobers added 14. Sobers also pulled down six boards and handed out six assists.

UCSD returns to action in the Coconut Coast Classic on Monday afternoon, taking on Montreat College at 4 p.m. The Tritons will then conclude play in the tournament with another contest against Hawaii Hilo on Wednesday, December 21 at 2 p.m.