LA JOLLA, Calif. - The first-ever meeting between the UC San Diego and Cal State San Marcos men's basketball teams was one to remember as the Tritons held on for a unique, 69-65 California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) victory Sunday afternoon at RIMAC Arena.
UCSD, ranked 11th nationally, improved to 9-1 on the season and remained perfect in conference play at 4-0. CSUSM dropped to 4-5 overall and 2-2 in the CCAA.
Things got very interesting in the waning moments (watch the vid). Up by just a point (66-65) after a Drew Dyer turnaround jumper, UC San Diego was forced to play the final 14 seconds of the game short-handed. On CSUSM's ensuing possession, Dyer was whistled for his fifth foul to become the fourth Triton to foul out of the game. Due to various injuries and redshirts, UCSD did not have an available substitute and went the rest of the way with four players on the floor.
Cal State San Marcos could not capitalize on its power play. The Cougars missed both free throws following the Dyer foul-out. George Buaku grabbed the defensive rebound, was immediately fouled, and made both of his shots from the charity stripe, giving the Tritons a 68-65 lead with 11 seconds remaining. With six ticks left, San Marcos again missed two free throws, the second on purpose, and Chris Hansen corralled the defensive board for UCSD. He was fouled and made the second of his two free throws to ice the win.
Along with Buaku and Hansen, credit Koree Cox and Kenny Fraser for finishing the game without a fifth teammate alongside them. Buaku was treading lightly as he had picked up his fourth foul halfway through the second frame.
Dyer finished with a team-high 19 points. He was 10-for-12 from the free throw line, both of those numbers career-highs. Hansen was 5-for-6 from the floor with 13 points and seven boards, while Zach McMillan led the Tritons on the glass with eight rebounds.
The Cougars got a double-double from Darnell Taylor, who posted game-highs with 26 points and 10 rebounds. Declan Daly had 13 points and Andrew Bournes totaled 11. Daly also added six blocks.
UC San Diego out-rebounded Cal State San Marcos, 50-34. The Tritons, who came into the contest averaging under 11 turnovers per game, turned the ball over 22 times, a season-high. Both teams shot under 40 percent with UCSD at .392 (20-51) and CSUSM at .356 (21-59). The Cougars made just two of their 18 (.111) three-point attempts.
A total of 62 personal fouls were called in the game, 32 against UC San Diego and 30 charged to Cal State San Marcos. The Tritons were 25-for-39 (.641) from the line and the Cougars were 21-for-34 (.618).
With the score tied, 14-14, in the first half, Buaku hit a three at the 7:33 mark to put the Tritons up for the rest of the period. They led 29-24 at the break.
UC San Diego grabbed its largest lead of the game when a second-half jumper by Aleks Lipovic made it 37-26 at 17:44. The Tritons stayed on top until Bournes drained a three-pointer with just over a minute left to give the Cougars a 65-64 advantage, their first lead since mid-way through the first half. However, they would not add any more points to the scoreboard.
UC San Diego is off until 2016 when it hosts Humboldt State on Jan. 1 and No. 5 Cal Poly Pomona on Jan. 2. Both games tip at 7:30 p.m.
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