LA JOLLA, Calif. - The UC San Diego men's basketball team ran its home record to 7-0 on the season with a 76-65 victory over 5th-ranked Cal State San Bernardino on Saturday evening in RIMAC Arena. With the win the Tritons see their overall record improve to 9-4 while the Coyotes drop to 13-3 on the season and fall into a tie for second place in the CCAA standings with UCSD at 6-2.
A nip-and-tuck first half that saw six lead changes and four ties was quickly changed during the last five minutes when the Tritons used a 11-2 run to close out the stanza and head into intermission with a 36-28 lead.
UCSD would score the first two points in the second half and led by 10 before the Coyotes used the next three minutes to take back the momentum, going on a 13-2 spurt to re-take the lead at 41-40 with 16:14 to go in regulation.
CSUSB would hold that lead for 45 seconds before UCSD's Darryl Lawlor hit a 3-pointer, giving the Tritons a 43-41 advantage that would not be relinquished, leading by as many as 13 points before settling on the 11-point margin of victory.
Kelvin Kim led four Triton players who scored in double figures, pouring in 16 points, using a 4-for-5 performance from long range as the catalyst. Henry Patterson chipped in with 14 while Jordan Lawley added 13. Lawlor finished with 10, many of which came via Clint Allard passes, as the senior captain finished with eight assists in addition to his nine points and four boards.
Marlon Pierce scored a game-high 29 points in the loss for the Coyotes, making 12 of 17 shots from the floor, including a solid 5-for-6 night from beyond the arc. Lance Ortiz added nine points while Jason Gilzene contributed seven. Devon Davis was the team's leading rebounder with six.
Both teams shot the ball very well from the floor as the Tritons made 66.7% of their shots overall, including a 61.1% (11-for-18) night from long range. CSUSB made 49.0% of its shots, including eight of 20 (40.0%) from 3-point range.
First year head coach Chris Carlson and his squad will look to continue their winning ways at home with two more CCAA contests in RIMAC Arena next weekend. First up will be a contest against San Francisco State on Friday evening, followed by a Saturday night showdown with CSU Monterey Bay. Both games are slated for 7:30 p.m. starts.
