SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. ? The UC San Diego men's basketball team suffered a 70-55 defeat at the hands of No. 20 Cal State San Bernardino Friday evening. The Coyotes improved to 21-5 overall and remain atop the CCAA standings with a 14-4 league record.
Despite three Triton players scoring in double figures, the CSUSB defense held UCSD to 36 shot attempts and picked up nine steals. Triton senior guard Clint Allard led the team with 13 points on 4-for-6 shooting while sophomore guard Jordan Lawley dropped in 11 points to go along with four assists. Junior guard Kelvin Kim added 10 points for UCSD.
The first half of play featured five lead changes and the Tritons only trailed by six points at halftime. From that point on the Coyotes turned up the heat, shooting 59 percent from the field and 6-for-11 from three-point range. CSUSB received a 17-point contribution from center Michael Earl, who shot 6-for-10 from the floor and blocked three shots.
The Tritons (15-8, 11-6 in CCAA) now sit alone in third place and will play Cal Poly Pomona Saturday night. The contest against the Broncos is the second of a four-game road trip for UCSD to close out the regular season.
In other action around the CCAA Friday, Humboldt State took down Cal State Stanislaus, 114-87, as the Lumberjacks moved into second place with a 12-5 record. Cal State L.A. upset San Francisco State, 67-58.
Tipoff Saturday against Cal Poly Pomona is set for 7:30 p.m. The Broncos, at 9-8, are in the middle of the CCAA pack and hold a home record of 7-3 within league play. CPP owns a 12-7 all-time record against UCSD, with all 19 contests coming at the Division II level since the 2000-01 season.
