CARSON, Calif. - The UC San Diego men's basketball team had five players score in double figures during its 78-74 double overtime victory over Cal State Dominguez Hills on Friday evening in The Torodome on the CSUDH campus in Carson. With the win the Tritons improve to 7-3 overall and 4-1 in California Collegiate Athletic Association play while the Toros fall to 6-6 overall and 1-5 in league action.
UCSD would own a 3-2 lead after a Darryl Lawlor 3-point shot connected, but CSUDH used a 15-6 run over the final five minutes of the first half to hold a 38-30 lead at intermission. The Tritons, who had only one lead in regulation, would rally to tie the score at 45 apiece with just over 10 minutes to play and needed another Lawlor long range bomb with 37 seconds to go to force overtime.
First year head coach Chris Carlson's squad would hold a 70-69 lead in the first overtime, but CSUDH's Danny Tavares would make one of two charity shots with 15 seconds remaining to knot the score at 70 apiece. Lawlor, who hit the game-tying shot in regulation for UCSD, would miss at the buzzer, forcing the second overtime period.
In that extra stanza, Lawlor would score five of the team's eight points, leading to the 4-point margin of victory. The victory would push the Tritons into a 2-way tie for second place atop in the CCAA standings with Humboldt State as the Lumberjacks posted a 10-point victory over SFSU. CSU San Bernardino stayed alone atop the league rankings after needing overtime for its victory at Cal State Stanislaus on Friday night.
Henry Patterson scored a team-high 19 points and a game-high seven rebounds in the win for the Tritons while Lawlor added 16. Kelvin Kim notched 13 points while Jordan Lawley and Andrew Hatch contributed 10 points apiece.
Jerrell Smith scored a game-high 25 points in the loss for the Toros while Michael Hernandez added 13 points. Tavares notched a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double in the loss.
UCSD will return to action on Saturday evening, playing at Cal State L.A. at 7:30 p.m. in the Eagles' Nest on the CSULA campus. The Golden Eagles enter the contest with an 8-4 overall record and a 2-3 conference mark after posting a 74-72 win at CSUDH on Wednesday night.
