THIS WEEK
UCSD men's basketball returns to RIMAC Arena for a pair of CCAA contests on Friday and Saturday nights. The Tritons will host Cal State Dominguez Hills at 7:30 p.m. on Friday night before welcoming in Cal Poly Pomona at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday evening. The games this weekend will be the fourth and fifth home contests of the year for UCSD who is currently 2-1 in home games during the 2005-06 season.
UCSD vs. CSU DOMINGUEZ HILLS
The Tritons and Toros have met 20 previous times entering Friday night's matchup with CSUDH having won 12 of those contests. Since entering the CCAA prior to the 2000-01 season, UCSD has accumulated a 6-4 record against the Toros including season sweeps in each of the last three campaigns. CSUDH is currently 4-8 overall and 2-4 in league play. The Toros and Tritons are currently tied for 8th place in the league standings. Mario Malave leads the CSUDH offense with his 16.9 points per contest. Carlos Rivers is next on the list with his 14.5 points per game.
UCSD vs. CAL POLY POMONA
The Tritons and Broncos have met 14 previous times with CPP holding a 9-5 all-time series advantage. The Broncos swept the season series last year and have won seven of the 10 meetings in CCAA play. The last time that UCSD defeated Cal Poly Pomona was a 65-64 win in RIMAC Arena on January 9, 2004. This year's Bronco squad is currently 8-5 overall and 4-2 in league play. Dion Cook leads the CPP offense with his 15.8 points per contest while Jonathan Boyd is second on the team in scoring at 13.6 points per game.
LAST WEEK - UCSD SPLITS
UCSD played Cal State San Bernardino and Cal State Monterey Bay on the road last week, gaining a split to move its record to 5-9 overall and 2-4 in league play. The Tritons lost at CSUSB on Wednesday evening by a 64-42 margin before traveling to CSUMB on Saturday night to register a 67-62 win over the Otters. Junior Robby Peters led the UCSD offense on Saturday night with 16 points, 12 of which came from the 3-point line. Clint Allard added 13 in the win.
UCSD LEADS CCAA IN SCORING “D”
The Tritons are leading the CCAA in scoring defense, having allowed only 65.1 points per game thus far this season. That number drops down to 59.7 points per game in CCAA only matchups, which also ranks first in the league.
ALLARD HAVING GOOD YEAR
Sophomore Clint Allard is having a very good year thus far for the Tritons. The guard from Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose, Calif., is averaging 12.2 points and 4.4 assists per game. Those numbers rank him 19th in the league in scoring and sixth in the CCAA in assists. His 2.02 assists-to-turnovers ratio currently ranks fourth as he has 61 assists on the year versus only 30 turnovers.
PATTERSON STILL ON THE MARK
Freshman forward Henry Patterson continues to lead the CCAA in field goal percentage having made 60.4% of his shots this year. He has made 61-of-101 shots from the floor to average 10.9 points per game in his rookie campaign. The next closest player in shooting percentage is Vince Inglima of Sonoma State who has made 74-of-127 shots this year for a 58.3% shooting clip.
TRITONS TIGHTEN UP 3-POINT “D”
The Tritons currently rank first in the CCAA in 3-point field goal defense in CCAA only games, as opponents are making only 28.0% on shots from long range through the first six league contests. In last week's two games on the road, the Tritons limited their opponents to a meager 23.4% clip from long range as Cal State San Bernardino went 8-for-25 while Cal State Monterey Bay made only 3-of-11.
FRESHMAN IMPACT
Through the first six CCAA games this season the Tritons have three freshman who rank among the top four leading scorers on the team in conference action. Forward Henry Patterson is leading the team in CCAA games with his 9.5 points per game. He also is averaging 3.5 boards. per contest. Fellow forwards Shane Poppen and Darryl Lawlor rank third and fourth on the team in CCAA scoring with their 8.0 and 7.7 points per game, respectively. Combined, the three rookies are averaging 25.2 points and 9.5 rebounds per contest. The 25.2 points account for 43% of the team's offense while the 9.5 rebounds account for 28% of the team's rebounding total.
REMEMBERING THE COMEBACK
With Cal State Dominguez Hills returning to RIMAC Arena on Friday night, memories are stirred up of last year's thrilling come-from-behind victory over the Toros. UCSD rallied from a 16-point second half deficit to hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer for a 74-72 victory over CSUDH on February 26. The shot capped an 18-2 run over the final seven minutes of the game in which UCSD made four of its 10 three-pointers in the game. Robby Peters, who hit two of those long range jumpers during the run finished with 14 points while Clint Allard, who hit the other three-pointer during the last seven minutes, finished with 13. Andrew Hatch added a game-high 17.
UCSD POSTS LARGEST CCAA WIN
With its 61-41 win over Chico State on Saturday night January 7, the Tritons set a new program record for largest margin of victory in a CCAA contest. The 20-point victory eclipsed the previous record of 19 which came in the program's very first CCAA game against San Francisco State on December 15, 2000 (96-77). The win was also the Tritons' first over Chico State since the last game of the 2001-02 season, a 101-91 win in RIMAC on March 2, 2002.
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
UCSD finally returned to RIMAC Arena on January 3 after playing its first 12 games (3 exhibition and 9 regular season) of the season on the road. After posting a 2-7 record on the road to begin the year, UCSD won two of its first three home games and improve to 10-8 in RIMAC Arena in the Bill Carr era.
UP NEXT - UCSD RETURNS TO ROAD
UCSD will head back out on the CCAA road next weekend traveling to Sonoma State on Friday night and San Francisco State on Saturday evening. Both games are slated for 7:30 p.m.
COACHING MOVES
Head coach Bill Carr made some adjustments to his coaching staff over the summer after Associate Head Coach Tom Kenna left to assume the head coaching position at Evergreen State University in Olympia, Wash. Eric Olen, last year's second assistant, was promoted to lead assistant while Andy Aguinaldo was promoted from director of basketball operations to assistant coach.
TRITONS POST HIGHEST WIN TOTAL IN PROGRAM HISTORY AT D-II LEVEL IN ?04-05
The 2004-05 UCSD men's basketball team set a new program standard for victories at the Division II level with last year's 11-16 record. The previous best came during the 2003-04 seasons when the Tritons posted a 9-18 mark. The 11 wins last season mark the first time since 1998-99 that UCSD earned double digit victories. The ?98-99 squad went 20-5 but did not qualify for the NCAA D-III Tournament.
HEAD COACH BILL CARR
Bill Carr begins his second season at the helm of the UC San Diego men's basketball program in 2005-06 after guiding the team to its highest win total at the Division II level in his first year. He guided the Tritons to a 11-16 overall record, eclipsing the previous high mark of nine wins that occurred in the 2003-04 season. The team also finished with a 7-13 mark in California Collegiate Athletic Association play and had the league's Freshman of the Year in Andrew Hatch. Prior to coming to UCSD, Carr spent two seasons as the associate head coach at Long Beach State. Prior to arriving on Long Beach State campus, he spent three seasons as the head basketball coach for Spring Hill College in Mobile, AL. Carr has spent the past 14 seasons coaching collegiate men's basketball and brings with him a wealth of experience and knowledge. A native of Glendale, Calif., Carr accumulated a career mark of 84-23 (.785) at Spring Hill, leading the Badgers to three appearances in the NAIA National Tournament. In 2000 and 2001, Spring Hill advanced to the NAIA “Elite Eight”. Spring Hill accumulated a 41-9 league mark in his three seasons and lost back-to-back games only once in 107 games. In his first season (1999-00) Carr led Spring Hill to a 29-8 mark, a Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC) championship and a trip to the NAIA Tournament, where it advanced to the final eight. Carr was named the GCAC Coach of the Year that season and was a finalist for the NAIA National Coach of the Year. Spring Hill finished the season ranked 11th in the country and was one of the top-rated defensive teams in the NAIA that season. The 29 victories set a new school record as did the 16 league wins. In 2000-01, the Badgers were 29-8, finished No. 12 in the country. The 29 victories tied a school record, which he set the year before. In his final season at Spring Hill (01-02) the Badgers finished 26-7, won the GCAC title and advanced to the NAIA Tournament, where they fell in the first round. The Badgers finished the regular season ranked No. 8 in the country and were the top-ranked defensive team in the nation. Prior to his time in Mobile, Carr spent nine years as an assistant coach at the University of San Francisco. He helped land 10 first team All-West Coast Conference (WCC) standouts to USF, including the 1998 and 2000 WCC Freshmen of the Year. USF advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 1998 after winning the WCC Tournament title. Carr attended Glendale College before moving on to USF where he lettered two years on the Dons basketball squad (1985-87). A shooting guard, Carr played on the “Back to Basketball” squad of 1985-86, the first season of the program's restart after a three-year hiatus. He would later graduate from USF with a degree in Accounting.
RIMAC ARENA - HOME OF THE TRITONS
The Recreation, IntraMural, Athletic Complex (RIMAC) is the newest of the UCSD sports facilities. This nearly 200,000 square foot facility is located just south of the 12-acre North Campus Recreation Area Field on the northwest corner of the campus. Opened in January 1995, RIMAC is a multi-purpose facility with the most advanced forms of quality control, state-of-the-art equipment and a strong staff commitment to customer service. Every room in RIMAC is climate controlled and many of the spaces feature an abundance of natural lighting. RIMAC houses the offices of the Intercollegiate Athletics, Recreation and Sports Facilities departments. RIMAC also features a variety of recreational, educational, and meeting spaces which can accommodate a variety of activities. The RIMAC Arena is a multi-use facility capable of accommodating a wide variety of activities ranging from large spectator events including ceremonies and concerts to athletic competitions and tournaments. The 44,000 square foot floor is also capable of accommodating large floor exhibits. The Arena Floor is spring loaded employing the use of Robbins Bio-Cushion I and is curtain divisible for multi-sport use in basketball (total of five courts), volleyball, and badminton. The arena is furnished with 10 retractable glass basketball backboards, and floor plates and sleeves for volleyball and badminton. Employing the use of telescopic bleachers and floor seats, the RIMAC Arena may accommodate up to 5,000 people. RIMAC is home to the UCSD men and women's basketball teams along with the men and women's volleyball squads. Over 50 home athletic events are contested in RIMAC every year, and with enthusiastic support from both the campus and surrounding communities, the Tritons truly enjoy a home court advantage. Both of the basketball and volleyball teams utilize the main court for both practice and games, while the auxiliary courts, which are located on the third floor, are used only for practices.
