LA JOLLA, Calif. ? Kelvin Kim scored 15 points and Shane Poppen finished with 12 points and seven rebounds to lead the UC San Diego men's basketball team past first place Cal State San Bernardino, 69-63 in a CCAA matchup Saturday night at RIMAC Arena. UCSD outscored CSUSB 13-6 over the final 4:46 to even the season series with the Coyotes.

After suffering their worst defeat of the season on Friday night, the Tritons bounced back with an impressive performance on Saturday, handing one of the California Collegiate Athletic Association's premiere teams it's second consecutive loss. UCSD improves to 13-9 overall and 10-6 in the CCAA, two games out of first place in the league standings with four to play.

Cal State San Bernardino, which entered Saturday's game in a three-way tie for first place with Cal State Dominguez Hills and Humboldt State, falls to 13-9 and 11-5 in the CCAA.

Kim finished 4-of-13 from the field and hit 2-of-7 shots from behind the three-point arc to lead three Tritons in double figures. The senior guard also dished out a game-high four assists.

Poppen hit 5-of-6 attempts from the floor and finished with three helpers, while Alan Husted scored 11 points, connecting on 3-of-10 from downtown.

UCSD led 44-36 with 12:07 remaining before San Bernardino scored 11 unanswered points to take a 47-44 lead with 9:46 remaining. Kim then responded with a triple the next time down for the Tritons and A.J. Maulhardt hit a midrange jumper, as UCSD reclaimed the lead, 49-47.

Trailing 57-55 at the 5:39 mark, the Tritons scored the next eight points to take a 63-57 advantage with a little more than two minutes to play. Kim and Jordan Lawley combined to hit six consecutive free throws during the stretch and Poppen scored on a huge tip-in off a missed three-pointer to give UCSD the lead for good.

DuBois Williams converted a three-point play on the ensuing possession for the Coyotes and Brandon Brown scored in the paint to cut the deficit to just one, 63-62 with 1:17 to play, but Kim answered the call for the Tritons again, drilling a long three to put UCSD back in front by four with 56 seconds left.

San Bernardino turned the ball over on its next trip and Lawley made a pair at the foul line to make it 68-62, sealing the win for the Tritons.

UCSD shot just 36% (21-58), but held a 15-6 advantage in second chance points and the Triton bench outscored the Coyote reserves 15-9. CSUSB shot just under 45%, making 22-of-49 shots.

Devin Montgomery led all scorers with 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting, while Brandon Brown finished with 14 points and 14 rebounds and Tim Denson put in 11.

UCSD led by as many as 10 points (26-16) in the first half, before San Bernardino closed the period on an 11-6 run to trail by just four at the break.

The Tritons conclude their four-game homestand against San Francisco State and Cal State Monterey Bay next week, before heading to Chico State and Cal State Stanislaus February 26-27 to wrap up the regular season.