LA JOLLA, Calif. - Jamel Ward scored 18 points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds to lead visiting Cal State Dominguez Hills to a 68-58 victory over UC San Diego on Thursday night at RIMAC Arena.
Jordan Lawley led all scorers with 24 points and
Casey Ryan finished with a career-high 19 for the Tritons, who lost their fifth straight.
CSUDH built a 42-23 lead at halftime and held off UCSD in the second half to earn its fifth victory in the last six games. The Toros evened their overall record at 10-10, while improving to 10-5 in California Collegiate Athletic Association play.
UCSD, which hasn't won since defeating San Francisco State in double overtime on January 16, falls to 4-13 overall and 3-11 in the CCAA.
Ward led four players in double figures for the Toros, who shot 44% from the field and connected on six three-point attempts. He hit 6-of-14 shots from the field, including 3-of-9 from behind the arc, propelling the visitors to a big first half lead with 12 points in the opening period.
Tim McGrath hit 5-of-8 shots en route to 16 points off the bench for CSUDH, while Michael Cox scored 12 and Marcquintice Davis chipped in with 11.
Lawley, who entered Thursday's game averaging a league-best 20.4 points per game, came through for the Tritons once again, connecting on 7-of-10 shots overall and 3-of-4 from long range, while also tallying seven rebounds.
Ryan was brilliant in his own right, finishing 9-for-10 from the floor and grabbing eight boards in a season-high 38 minutes. The junior guard surpassed his previous mark of 12 points scored on two occasions this season.
The duo did the bulk of the scoring for the Tritons, combining for 43 of the team's 58 points.
While UCSD held a 30-22 advantage in the paint, CSUDH won the rebounding battle to the tune of 39-30 and scored 13 second chance points. The Toros were 16-of-22 at the free throw line, 73%, while the Tritons were just 13-of-25, 52%.
UCSD pulled within 22-20 on a jumper by Jay Wey with 7:31 left in the first half, but Dominguez responded with eight straight points over the next three minutes to take a 30-20 lead. Ward' s jumper with two minutes left made it 35-22 and McGrath scored the Toros' final seven points of the period to give CSUDH a 19-point cushion at the break.
The Toros scored the first six points of the second half to take their biggest lead at 48-23, but the Tritons would rally to within 10 (56-46) following two free throws by Lawley with just under five minutes remaining. UCSD missed its next four shots, however, and Ward sank two free throws to give CSUDH a 60-48 advantage.
Ryan's layup with 45 seconds left brought UCSD to within eight at 58-66, but it was too little too late and the visitors held on for the 10-point win.
The Tritons shot 42% for the game, connecting on 21-of-50 attempts from the field.
UCSD returns to the court on Saturday night when Cal State L.A. comes to town. Tipoff is scheduled for approximately 7:30 p.m.
