ROHNERT PARK, Calif. - A strong second half propelled the 22nd-ranked UC San Diego men's basketball team to a 69-55 conference victory at Sonoma State Wednesday evening.
UCSD remains undefeated at 6-0, while SSU dropped to 5-2. It was the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) opener for both teams.
Up by just three points (29-26) at halftime, the Tritons shot a blistering 60 percent (15-25) and made seven of 12 three-point attempts in the second half to pull away for the win.
"We shot the ball really well in the second half, but I thought the defensive end of the floor was where we were able to create some separation," said UCSD head coach Eric Olen.
Drew Dyer and Adam Klie each poured in 17 points for UC San Diego. Fourteen of Dyer's points and 11 of Klie's came in the second stanza. Klie was 7-for-10 shooting and added six assists. Dyer and Aleks Lipovic each netted five three-pointers, with Dyer nailing four of his in the second half. The senior forward also pulled down a game-high seven rebounds.
UC San Diego led the entire game after Lipovic hit a trey to open the scoring at 19:42 of the first half. Down by 10 points, 26-16, with 3:06 remaining in the half, SSU closed out the frame on a 10-3 run to get within three at the break.
The Tritons out-scored the Seawolves 40-29 in the second half. With 9:14 left, they ran off a string of six consecutive threes - four by Dyer and one each from Koree Cox and Lipovic. For good measure, Dyer assisted on the Lipovic long-range make. The spree had UCSD leading by 20, 65-45, at the 6:10 mark.
Ronnie Harris had 11 points and James Slade finished with 10 for Sonoma State. Andy Mitchell had a team-best five boards.
UCSD ended up shooting 53.1 percent (26-49) for the game, while SSU hit just 37.3 percent (19-51) of its shots.
"This was a really good win to open league play," said Olen. "We are excited to go back home and prepare to face a talented Cal State Monterey Bay team."
The Tritons host the Otters (2-4, 0-0 CCAA) on Friday, Dec. 4 at 7:30 p.m. CSUMB has won two straight non-conference games.
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