SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. ? Cal State San Bernardino closed out its regular season home schedule Saturday night with a 77-59 victory over UC San Diego, snapping a two-game losing streak to the Tritons before a crowd of 895 on Seniors Night in Coussoulis Arena.
The victory improved the Coyotes to 20-5 on the season and 16-4 in the CCAA, one game behind CCAA leader and West Region No. 1 Humboldt State who survived a scare at home from Cal State L.A., winning 77-75 to improve to 17-3 in the CCAA and 22-3 overall with two games left.
UCSD is now 10-15 overall and 8-12 in theCCAA.
The Coyotes, ranked No.2 in the West Region, were led by senior center Ivan Johnson with 22 points. Senior Chet Johnson chipped in 13 points including five free throws down the stretch. Prentice Harris had 10 points. Lance Ortiz and Marlon Pierce combined for 11 points and nine assists at the point guard position.
Clint Allard put on a clinic for the Tritons, hitting nine of 10 field goal tries including four-for-four from three-point land for 25 points. He also dished off a game high six assists. Kelvin Kim added 11 points and hit three of four from beyond the arc.
The Coyotes defense forced 22 turnovers and made 13 steals while the offense shot 63 percent from the field (28 of 44) and made 17 of 21 free throws (81 percent). UCSD shot a creditable 51 percent (20 of 39) and was 10 for 20 from long range (50 percent) but were just nien of 16 from the foul line (56 percent).
Ivan Johnson did the damage inside. The 6-8 center was 10 for 12 from the field and made both his foul shots, collecting three rebounds. Ortiz and Pierce combined for seven of the team's 13 steals.
UCSD got to the lead 12-11 with 12:08 left in the first half on a jumper by Shane Poppen but the Coyotes went back in front 13-12 on a layup by Pierce and never trailed again.
The Coyotes scored the last five points of the first half on a three by Harris and a putback by Geoffrey Clayton for a 36-24 halftime advantage.
The Tritons fought back to get to within three points at 46-43 on Kim's three-pointer with 13:31 remaining, but the Coyotes responded and ran off 13 straight points to lead 59-46 with 8:53 left on a pair of free throws by Chet Johnson.
Johnson was later fouled on a three-point attempt and sank all three for a 69-56 lead with 4:01 left in the game.
UCSD returns to action next weekend, hosting its final two games of the season. Head coach Bill Carr's squad hosts CSU Monterey Bay on Friday night and San Francisco State on Saturday evening. Both games are slated for 7:30 p.m. inside RIMAC Arena.
