LA JOLLA, Calif. ? After an evenly played first half, visiting Cal Poly Pomona outscored UC San Diego 36-17 in the second, handing the Tritons a 61-39 defeat Friday night at RIMAC Arena. The Broncos held the Tritons to just 28% shooting in the final 20 minutes as UCSD suffered it's worst loss of the season.
Winners of six straight and seven of their last eight, the streaking Broncos improved to 15-6 overall and 11-5 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. Pomona is now even in the win column with Cal State Dominguez Hills, Humboldt State, and Cal State San Bernardino, who sit atop the conference standings at 11-4 with five games to play.
UCSD falls to 12-9 overall and 9-6 in the CCAA, currently sitting in fifth place, 1.5 games behind Cal Poly Pomona. The Tritons have lost three of their last four after winning five straight from January 16-30.
Kelvin Kim scored a layup to bring UCSD to within 34-32 with 12:18 remaining in the game, but Robert Summers knocked down a pair of free throws and Walter Thompson converted a long three to give the Broncos a seven-point advantage with 10:25 left to play.
A.J. Maulhardt's bucket cut the deficit to five with 8:44 to go, but the Tritons went ice cold from that point, as the Pomona defense held UCSD to just five points the rest of the way. After
Alan Husted's triple made 46-39 with 5:56 remaining, the Broncos closed the game on a 15-0 run as the Tritons missed their final seven shots from the field.
UCSD shot 7-for-25 in the second period and finished with its lowest point total in half this season. The Tritons' previous low was 19 points, which came in their season-opening loss at San Diego State. After shooting better than 50% from the field in each of the last two games, UCSD shot 34% (16-47) on Friday.
Cal Poly Pomona shot 11-for-18 after halftime, 61%, and connected on 3-of-6 from downtown. The Broncos finished at a 51% (21-41) clip overall.
Larry Gordon, Austin Swift, and Thompson scored 12 points apiece to lead the way for the Broncos, while Tobias Jahn finished with 10.
Darryl Lawlor scored 11 points to pace the Tritons, reaching double figures for the first time since December 5. The senior forward was 3-of-6 from the field and hit all five of his shot from the foul line.
Husted scored seven points for UCSD, while Maulhardt totaled six points and six rebounds.
UCSD led for much of the first half before Pomona used a 10-2 run to turn an 18-15 deficit into a 25-20 lead with 1:10 left in the period. Lawlor made two free throws with three seconds left as the visitors took a three-point lead into the locker room at intermission.
The Tritons will look to bounce back when Cal State San Bernardino comes to town Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
