ARCATA, Calif. ? The UC San Diego men's basketball team saw it's season-high five game winning streak come to end Saturday night, dropping a 60-55 decision to Humboldt State in front of a sellout crowd at Lumberjack Gym. The Tritons led 52-50 with 2:51 remaining, but the Lumberjacks closed the game on a 10-3 run to earn a split in the season series.
Humboldt State improves to 16-6 overall and 9-3 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association, moving into first place in the league standings. UCSD, which suffered its first defeat since January 10, falls to 11-7 overall and 8-4 in the CCAA.
The Tritons had won five straight entering Saturday's contest, matching their longest streak of the season. UCSD defeated Sonoma State on Friday night on a last-second half court shot from Jordan Lawley.
The Tritons defeated the Lumberjacks 80-67 on December 5 in La Jolla.
"Humboldt played very well tonight," head coach Chris Carlson said. "We knew they would be ready for us after we beat them at our place and they were able to take us out of a lot of what we wanted to do. We had our chances, we just came up short in the end. You have to give them credit."
Shane Poppen scored 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting and hauled down six rebounds to lead the way for UCSD, while Lawley finished with 14 points and Kelvin Kim added 11.
The Tritons took their first lead of the game (50-48) on a pair of Lawley free throws and his jumper 40 seconds later put them in front 52-50 with just under three minutes to play. It was all Humboldt from there, as the home team scored seven straight points to take a 57-52 advantage with 31 seconds remaining.
Kim's three on the next possession cut the deficit to just two, but Zac Tiedeman drilled two free throws and the Tritons came up dry to next trip, sealing the victory for the Lumberjacks.
UCSD shot 39% (20-51) for the game, while Humboldt State hit 22-of-47 shots, 47%. The Tritons attempted a season-high 26 three-pointers, connecting on just six, 23%.
Jameson Figgatt scored 13 points and grabbed six boards to pace the Lumberjacks, while Tiedeman scored 10 points and dished out a game-high five assists.
The Tritons will look to bounce back at Cal State Dominguez Hills on Friday, February 6. The Toros defeated UCSD 63-51 at RIMAC Arena on January 3.
