LA JOLLA, Calif. - The UC San Diego men's basketball team out-scored Humboldt State by a stunning 55-39 margin in the second half on the way to a thrilling 84-72 win on Friday evening in RIMAC Arena. The victory was UCSD's first-ever over the Lumberjacks and pushed the Tritons to 13-6 overall and 9-4 in CCAA play. The 'Jacks fall to 14-7 overall and 9-5 in conference action.
UCSD is now alone in second place in the league standings, trailing Cal State San Bernardino by only one game as the Coyotes upended Cal State Dominguez Hills on Friday night. Humboldt State falls into third place by itself, one and a half games behind CSUSB.
Friday night's game was almost a mirror image of the contest played in Arcata earlier in the season. In that matchup back on January 5th, the Tritons held a 17-point advantage in the first half before giving up a big second half to the Lumberjacks as Humboldt State cruised to an 80-69 victory. Tonight's game saw HSU lead by as many as 10 points in the first stanza before UCSD came roaring back for the 12-point win.
Junior Kelvin Kim led five Triton players who scored in double figures, pouring in 14 points. Darryl Lawlor chipped in with 13 points and four boards while Clint Allard added 11 points, three boards and four assists. Shane Poppen had a huge night off the bench, notching a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double that included two huge tip-ins during a second half UCSD surge. Jordan Lawley rounded out the Triton players in double figures with his 10 points.
Devin Peal scored a game-high 27 points in a losing effort for the Lumberjacks, making 10 of 17 shots from the floor, but struggling from the charity stripe where he was only seven of 13. Grayson Moyer was the only other HSU player to reach double figures, adding 11 points, four of which came from the foul line.
As a team the Tritons shot 50% from the floor, despite making only four of 17 shots from long range. UCSD did make 30 fo 37 foul shot attempts, dwarfing HSU's 17-for-25 night from the line. The 'Jacks went 25-for-55 from the floor, including a woeful five of 20 from behind the 3-point arc.
UCSD out-rebounded the Lumberjacks by a 35-28 margin. Both teams committed 16 turnovers on the night.
First year head coach Chris Carlson and his squad will return to action on Saturday evening, hosting Sonoma State. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m. in RIMAC Arena and will be featured on the NCAA/CSTV Division II Broadband Telecast.
