LA JOLLA, Calif. ? The UC San Diego men's basketball team outscored Cal State Monterey Bay 40-29 in the first half and held on for a 72-65 victory in its final home game of the regular season Saturday night at RIMAC Arena.
Kelvin Kim scored a game-high 18 points and dished out five assists to lead the Tritons to their third consecutive win and eighth in the last 11 games overall.
The Tritons improve to 15-9 on the year and 12-6 in the CCAA, locking up a berth in the California Collegiate Athletic Association Championship Tournament in two weeks. Currently tied with Humboldt State for fourth place in the league standings, UCSD will look to keep the momentum going when it wraps up the regular season at Chico State and Cal State Stanislaus next weekend.
Cal State Monterey Bay falls to 14-11 overall and 8-10 in the CCAA, now four games behind UCSD.
One of seven seniors honored prior to the game, Kim came up with a big performance, shooting 4-of-9 from the field and 3-of-6 from the three-point line to lead four players in double figures for the Tritons. Junior guard
Jordan Lawley scored 11 points, grabbed six rebounds, and dished out four assists, while seniors
Shane Poppen and
Alan Husted finished with 10 points apiece.
UCSD shot 50% (15-30) in the opening half to build an 11-point advantage at the break, but Steve Monreal hit back-to-back threes and Joe Mitchell scored in the paint to bring CSUMB to within three, 40-37 after the first 2:13 of the second stanza.
The Tritons led 46-40 after a Kim layup at the 13:03 mark, before consecutive hoops from Dante Green and Monreal cut the deficit to just two.
Tyler Acevedo then responded with two free throws and
Darryl Lawlor hit a triple, pushing UCSD's advantage back to seven at 51-44 with 9:21 remaining.
The Otters closed to within 53-49 three minutes later, but Acevedo answered again, hitting a deep three from the wing on the Tritons' next possession. Kim was fouled on a three-point try with 4:37 left and converted all three attempts at the line, giving UCSD a 60-51 cushion.
The Tritons led 64-53 before a 9-2 Otter spurt cut the deficit to just four (66-62) with 35 second to play, but free throws from Husted, Kim, and Lawley sealed the seven-point win for UCSD.
The Tritons shot just 23% (5-22) in the second half, but converted 20-of-26 free throws in the period to keep CSUMB at bay. UCSD shot 38.5% from the field overall, while Monterey Bay was slightly better at 39.3%.
“It certainly got a lot closer than we would have like in the second half, but we'll take it,” head coach
Chris Carlson said. “We did an excellent job of getting to the foul line again tonight and that was key down the stretch. We're finding ways to win games and that's what you want heading into March.”
UCSD was +14 at the line its 78-71 victory over San Francisco State on Friday.
Jose Sanchez scored 14 points off the bench to lead four players in double figures for the Otters. Monreal finished with 13 points, five rebounds, and six assists, while Mitchell and Green scored 10 points apiece.
UCSD will return to action Friday night against Chico State looking to sweep the season series from the Wildcats. Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.
