TURLOCK, Calif. - In an epic battle between two of the top teams in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), Cal State Stanislaus held on for a double overtime, 67-66 victory against UC San Diego Saturday evening at Fitzpatrick Arena.
The two squads entered the game tied for third place in the conference. UCSD is now 12-8 overall and tied for fourth (Cal State San Bernardino) in the CCAA at 10-6. CSUS improved to 14-7 and 11-5 and now owns third place by itself.
"I'm really proud of our effort tonight," said UCSD head coach Eric Olen. "We fought hard for 50 minutes and unfortunately came up just a little short."
With seven seconds remaining in the second overtime period, Chris Read hit a jumper to give the Warriors a 67-66 advantage. The Tritons had a great chance to win it, but had a layup blocked at the buzzer.
The first overtime frame was just as much of a nail-biter. Clinton Tremelling netted a three-pointer with 10 seconds left to put the Warriors up 57-54. However, UCSD's George Buaku came right back and drilled a trey as time expired to tie it up and send the contest into a second extra period.
CSUS led 23-22 at halftime and the score at the end of regulation was 50-50.
UCSD scored the first point of the game on a free throw, but Stanislaus answered with a layup and led for the rest of the opening half.
In a back-and-forth second stanza, the Tritons led by as many as five points. It came down to free throws in the waning moments. Buaku made one of two with 50 seconds left to give UCSD a 50-49 edge. In the last 23 seconds, the Warriors had three free throw opportunites, but converted on just one of them.
UCSD's Adam Klie led all players with 17 points. Hunter Walker had 13 and Buaku finished with 11. Drew Dyer brought down 11 rebounds.
One of the top three-point shooting teams in the league, UC San Diego made 10 of 31, 32 percent. Overall, the Tritons hit 39 percent of their shots.
For the Warriors, Read totaled 15 points, Shey Mataele had 13 and Christian Bayne added 12. Wes Bartole grabbed a game-high 12 boards. Bartole also had what amounted to the game-winning block at the end of the second overtime.
CSUS shot 43 percent and held a slight, 34-31, advantage in rebounding. Both teams turned the ball over 12 times. The Warriors made just 16 of 29 free throws, 55 percent.
Cal State Stanislaus swept the season series as it defeated UC San Diego, 53-48, on Jan. 2 in La Jolla.
It was the first overtime tilt for UCSD this season.
UCSD remains on the road for another week, playing at San Francisco State on Feb. 13 and at Sonoma State on Feb. 15. The Tritons have beaten both teams already this year.
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