LA JOLLA, Calif. ? Trailing 55-52 with 3:41 remaining, the UC San Diego men's basketball team outscored Cal State L.A. 9-1 over the next two minutes and held on for a 68-64 conference victory Friday night at RIMAC Arena. Senior guard
Kelvin Kim scored six of his team-high 16 points in the final 2:17, including a triple that put the Tritons in front for good, as UCSD won its third straight game to start CCAA play.
The Tritons improved to 6-3 overall with their fifth consecutive victory and will look to remain unbeaten in conference play when Cal State Dominguez Hills pays a visit to RIMAC Arena on Saturday at 7:30. UCSD has won six of its last seven games since starting the season 0-2 and has not lost since falling to 11th-ranked Central Washington on November 29.
“Tonight's game really proved how tough our league is,” head coach
Chris Carlson said. “We are in a dogfight each and every night and there are no easy games on the schedule. Cal State L.A. played great in the second half and we really needed a few things to go right for us down the stretch. Fortunately we made some big plays and we'll take the win.”
After Donte Bell knocked down a long three to give the Golden Eagles (6-5, 2-2 CCAA) a three-point advantage,
Alan Husted answered with a trey of his own to tie the game at 55-55 with 3:21 left to play. Bell hit 1-of-2 at the foul line a minute later before Kim sank his third three-pointer of the game to give the Tritons a 58-56 advantage with a little more than two minutes remaining.
Kirby Ruiz's long three with the shot clock running down put UCSD in front by five (61-56) with 1:25 left on the clock, but Cal State L.A. pulled back to within two on two separate occasions as Artis Gant knocked down a triple and converted two free throws.
Chris Fields hit another three for Cal State L.A. nine seconds later to bring the visitors to within one (65-64) with 27 seconds remaining. After Kim was fouled and made 1-of-2, Fields drew a foul at the other end and stepped up to the line with a chance to tie the game with 10 seconds left in regulation. He missed both shots,
Brett Stuckey secured the rebound, was fouled, and sank both free throws to ice the 68-64 win for the Tritons.
Kim finished 6-of-12 from the field, including 3-of-8 from behind the arc to lead four Tritons in double figures.
Shane Poppen recorded his third consecutive double-double, tallying 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Husted finished with 11 points and a game-high five assists.
After injuries forced him to miss the first eight games of the season, Stuckey was in the lineup for the first time Friday and finished with 10 points on 3-of-4 shooting. The redshirt senior also grabbed five rebounds in 10 minutes off the bench.
Fields scored a game-high 19 points to pace the Golden Eagles, while Gant finished with 18, and Bell chipped in with 14.
UCSD shot 44% (23-52) for the game, while holding Cal State L.A. to 41% (20-49).
The Tritons were dominant on the glass, outrebounding the Golden Eagles 40-24, and outscored the visitors 34-20 in the paint.
UCSD led 29-21 at the break, but Cal State L.A. opened the second half on a 15-4 run to take a 36-33 advantage with 15:35 remaining. The Tritons were able to pull out the victory despite 56% shooting from the Golden Eagles in the final stanza.
