PUEBLO, Colo. - Despite 21 points from senior guard
Jordan Lawley, the UC San Diego men's basketball team dropped a 71-63 overtime decision to Western State College Friday evening in the opening game of the 2009 Al Kaly Shrine Classic on the campus of Colorado State University-Pueblo. UCSD led by 12 points with seven minutes remaining before a 15-0 Mountaineer run sent the game to overtime, where Western State would prevail.
UCSD (0-1) took a 53-41 lead on a three-point play by Lawley with 7:04 left in the second half, but Dan Hobin hit two free throws and Weylan Towns scored inside to ignite the WSC rally. Hobin scored seven of the Mountaineers' 15 points during the run, including a three-pointer with 59 seconds left that gave Western State a 55-53 lead.
The Tritons missed five consecutive shots until
Tyler Acevedo drained a three with 12 seconds left to tie the game at 56-56 and send it to overtime.
After
Christian Hatch's layup brought UCSD to within two at 62-60 3:20 into the extra session, Alex Hart and Dan Hobin hit jumpers for the Mountaineers and Towns knocked down to free throws to give Western State a 68-60 cushion with 31 seconds left to play.
Acevedo then hit another three to cut the Tritons' deficit to five, but it was too little too late, as Biber converted two at the line to seal the eight-point win for the Mountaineers.
Western State (2-0) shot 40% (23-57) from the field while UCSD connected on just 22 of 68 attempts, 32%. The Tritons held a 52-37 advantage on the boards, but lost the turnover battle 17-8.
"Well, certainly when you have a lead like that at that point in the game, you're disappointed when you don't come away with the victory," head coach
Chris Carlson said. "I thought we played really well in the first half and for most of the second, but then they were able to get back into it and we just didn't have enough in the tank in overtime. We've got to find a way to hold that lead and win the game."
Lawley, UCSD's leading scorer at 13.9 points per game in 2008-09, picked up right where he left off, scoring 21 points on 8-for-22 shooting to lead the Tritons. He also finished with nine rebounds and four assists. Acevedo hit 3-of-6 from downtown and finished with 13 points, while junior guard
Casey Ryan chipped in with five points and 10 rebounds.
Towns led all scorers with 22 points on 6-of-14 shooting for the Mountaineers. He also dished out a game-high five assists. Hobin was 7-for-11 from the floor and finished with 20 points, while Biber scored 18 and grabbed nine boards.
Towns, Hobin, and Biber combined for 60 of Western State's 71 points.
UCSD took a 16-11 advantage in the first half following a Lawley jumper with 6:43 remaining. That would stand as the Tritons largest lead in an opening period that featured five ties and six lead changes. Western State led 71-63 at the half.
The Tritons will look to bounce back against host Colorado State-Pueblo on the final day of the Al Kaly Shrine Classic on Saturday. Tipoff is slated for 6:00 p.m. PT.
