CARSON, Calif. ? Despite shooting 52% from the field, the UC San Diego men's basketball team couldn't get over the hump, dropping a 61-58 decision to Cal State Dominguez Hills Friday night at the Torodome.
Jordan Lawley's potential game-tying three-pointer with five seconds remaining missed the marked as the Tritons lost their second straight conference road game.
CSUDH, which entered the week tied with UCSD for third place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association standings, improves to 16-5 overall and 10-4 in league with its sixth win in the last eight games. UCSD falls to 11-8 and 8-5 in the CCAA entering Saturday's matchup with Cal State L.A.
The Tritons have lost two in a row after winning a season-best five straight from January 16-30. UCSD drops the season series to Dominguez, falling to the Toros for the third consecutive meeting.
Lawley scored a game-high 22 points for UCSD, hitting 7-of-13 shots from the field and 3-of-8 from the three-point arc.
Alan Husted scored 10 points and finished with three steals, while
Shane Poppen chipped in with eight points and a game-high six rebounds.
The Tritons and Toros battled through an evenly-played first half that featured eight ties and three lead changes, but James Cawthorne's tip-in followed by Ryan Walton's layup just before the buzzer gave the home squad a 34-29 cushion at the break.
CSUDH led 41-32 3:14 into the second period before Lawley drilled a triple,
A.J. Maulhardt scored an easy bucket in the paint, and Husted hit a jumper to bring UCSD back within two with 13:48 remaining.
Back-to-back threes by
Kelvin Kim and Lawley tied the game at 45-45 five minutes later, but Cawthorne answered with a trey of his own and Jamel Ward took advantage of an offensive rebound to put the Toros back in front by five. The Tritons came all the way back to take a 54-52 lead after four straight points from Lawley, but Dominguez responded again, getting two threes from Jonathan Tolliver and a pair of free throws from Jerrell Smith on their next three possessions to take a 60-54 lead with just under three minutes to play.
Poppen hit a jumper and Lawley sank two at the line to bring UCSD within two with 1:23 on the clock, but Michael Hernandez was fouled on the ensuing possession and hit one of two, giving CSUDH a 61-58 advantage with 21 seconds left.
After sinking a half court shot to win the game last week at Sonoma State, Lawley's three-point try fell short on the final play, securing the win for the Toros.
UCSD finished 22-of-42 for the game, 52.4%, losing for the first time this season when shooting better than 50% from the floor. Dominguez converted on 22-of-49 shots, 45%, but held a decisive 32-21 advantage on the glass.
Smith scored 14 points and hauled in six boards to lead the way for the Toros, while Michael Hernandez added 12 points and five assists.
Tipoff for the Tritons' bout with the Golden Eagles is slated for 7:30 p.m. in Los Angeles.
