SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. ? The UC San Diego men's basketball pulled out a stunning 63-59 overtime victory Tuesday night on the road, knocking off No. 13 Cal State San Bernardino at Coussoulis Arena to move into the CCAA semifinal round.
It was the first-ever Division II postseason win for the Tritons, who will play Friday at 5:30 p.m. against San Francisco State. The rest of the CCAA Tournament will take place at the same venue, Coussoulis Arena on the CSUSB campus.
UCSD, entering tournament action as the No. 7 seed, started out white-hot in Tuesday's first round game. The Tritons opened the game by knocking down two three-pointers and continued to build leads of 11-3 and 23-9. The UCSD defense held the Coyotes to just 30 percent shooting in the first half while the Triton attack poured in five of its nine three-point attempts during that span to take a 26-14 advantage into halftime.
“Overall, the team played fantastic defense,” head coach Chris Carlson said. “Darryl Lawlor sticks out in my mind -helping, rotating and getting some key rebounds down the stretch. He took control of the boards.”
CSUSB crept back into the contest and managed to tie the game at 35-35 with 13:31 to play in the second half. Triton reserves Andrew Hatch and Andrew Browning, two of four UCSD players to score in double figures, helped their team build back up a seven-point lead with about four minutes to play.
Free-throw shooting continued to plague the Tritons, who shot 52.8 percent from the stripe during the contest, and allowed the Coyotes to knot the game at 54-54 with 41 seconds remaining in regulation. Neither team could score during the final two possessions and as a result, the first round nailbiter moved to overtime.
“This is just a very resilient group,” Carlson said. “We didn't execute the way we wanted late in regulation, but overtime is a situation we've experienced numerous times - it's not something new.”
UCSD overpowered CSUSB in overtime, 9-5, to upset the tournament host at home as Lawlor helped his team's case by knocking down four free throws in the extra period. Lawlor finished the game with a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds. Jordan Lawley collected 13 points and five rebounds while Hatch and Browning added 10 points apiece off the bench.
“We came out in overtime very focused and concentrated,” Carlson said. “Our team was ready to win. Now we've got San Francisco State Friday and after losing to them twice this year, we should not be lacking for motivation.”
Seeds five, six, seven and eight all picked up upset victories Tuesday night. As the league reseeds the bracket, the Tritons will take on No. 6 seeded SFSU. The Gators topped Cal State L.A. on the road, 60-57.
