SEASIDE, Calif. - Mateo Jones hit a layup with just under two seconds remaining in the game to lift Cal State Monterey Bay to a 64-62 victory against UC San Diego Friday night at The Kelp Bed.
UCSD's Jeff Van Dyke (Carlsbad/La Costa Canyon HS) drilled a three-pointer with three ticks left on the clock to tie the game at 62-62. However, Jones' fast break bucket with 1.7 seconds until the final horn gave the home squad the win.
UCSD trailed by as many as 13 points early in the second half.
"I'm proud of the way we fought back," said UCSD head coach Eric Olen. "I thought we showed a lot of toughness and resilience in the second half. Unfortunately, we came up a little short."
The Tritons fell to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). The Otters improved to 4-2 and it was their first league game of the season.
Cal State Monterey Bay shot 52 percent to UC San Diego's 37 percent. The Tritons scored 28 points off of 19 Otter turnovers.
Van Dyke and Aleks Lipovic each finished with a game-high 14 points. Van Dyke, a transfer from Pepperdine, was 5-for-7 from the floor and made four of his five three-point attempts. Lipovics also hit four treys and added two assists and two steals.
Hunter Walker had 11 points for UCSD. Zach McMillan pulled down seven rebounds and Drew Dyer handed out four assists.
The Tritons opened the game with a 9-0 run on a trio of threes from Dyer and Lipovic.
The Otters were paced by Evan Zeller's 13 points and Alex Fertig's 10. Zeller had six assists as well.
"Moving forward, we need to play with more consistency so we don't put ourselves in a hole" said Olen.
UCSD plays at Cal State East Bay (2-4, 0-1 CCAA). The Pioneers were crushed, 83-52, Friday by league favorite Cal Poly Pomona.
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