SAN FRANCISCO - The UC San Diego men's basketball team was defeated, 65-56, by San Francisco State Friday in California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) action at Main Gym.
With its third straight loss, UCSD dropped to 12-9 overall and 10-7 in the CCAA. The Tritons now sit in a three-way tie for fourth place with five regular season contests remaining.
UC San Diego shot just 36.7 percent (18-49) from the field, the team's third-lowest number of the season. In addition, the Tritons made only 25 percent (8-32) of their three-point attempts and 57.1 percent (12-21) of their free throws.
UCSD turned the ball over 13 times, 11 of those coming on steals by San Francisco State.
"We didn't play well enough to win," said UCSD head coach Eric Olen. "It is difficult to have success on the road and we need to play at a higher level in order to get back on track."
The Tritons had a brief lead in the first half, holding a 13-10 advantage at the 11:20 mark. However, Jon McMurry scored five consecutive points on a three and a layup to put the Gators up 15-13 and they would not relinquish the lead for the rest of the night.
Ahead by nine, 33-24 at halftime, SF State extended its lead to 16 points, 53-37, with 7:28 left in the game.
Adam Klie totaled 15 points and five rebounds for UCSD, both team highs. Drew Dyer added 10 points and four boards, while Jeff Van Dyke made three treys to finish with nine points.
Andre Jones led all players with 18 points for the Gators. Udun Osakue had a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds while also tallying five steals. Bren Haley dished out seven assists.
SF State, which shot 46.7 percent (21-45), improved to 9-12 on the season and 7-10 in the CCAA.
UCSD plays at Sonoma State (11-10, 8-9) Saturday at 7:30 p.m. In early January, the Tritons defeated the Seawolves, 63-57, in La Jolla. SSU lost to Cal Poly Pomona, 62-51, Friday.
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