LA JOLLA, Calif. - A quartet of Tritons hit double-figures in points as the UC San Diego men's basketball team opened its season Tuesday night with a convincing 77-60 victory against Winona State at RIMAC Arena.
UCSD (1-0) was paced by Adam Klie's 17 points and six rebounds, both game-highs. The junior guard was 6-for-9 from the field and 5-for-6 from the free throw line while dishing out four assists and adding a steal in 22 minutes of play.
Joining Klie with 10 or more points were Drew Dyer (16), Hunter Walker (14) and Zach McMillan (12). Dyer netted four three-pointers, while McMillan was 4-for-4 shooting with five boards. Grant Jackson also corralled five rebounds.
The first half was back-and-forth with four tie scores and eight lead changes. At the 6:39 mark, a Walker basket gave UCSD a 26-25 lead and the Tritons stayed ahead until the final horn.
UCSD, which led 37-32 at halftime, pulled away early in the second stanza. Just over four minutes in, a pair of free throws by Klie capped a 15-6 run that put the Tritons up by 14 points, 52-38. The biggest lead of the night came at 8:57 when a Klie layup made for a 22-point spread, 66-44.
The Warriors got no closer than 12 the rest of the way.
UC San Diego shot 52 percent (26-50) for the game. Winona State finished at 38.6 percent (17-44) and made just 27.3 percent (6-22) of its shots in the second half. The Tritons scored 25 points off of 18 Warrior turnovers.
WSU got 15 points, four rebounds and four steals from Mark Blacklock. Kyle Bauman had 11 points and Connor Flack added 10. The Warriors made 21 of 26 free throws and Conrad Masberg was a perfect 8-for-8 from the line.
It was the first-ever meeting between the two teams.
UC San Diego hosts another non-conference opponent in 10th-ranked Colorado School of Mines (2-0) on Nov. 22 at 1 p.m.
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