LOS ANGELES - Four players scored in double figures as the 17th-ranked UC San Diego men's basketball team earned a 78-64 win on the road at league opponent Cal State L.A. Saturday night.
UCSD is now 12-2 overall and 7-1 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). The Tritons are tied for first place in the conference with Cal Poly Pomona. CSULA, which lost its fourth straight game, dropped to 2-12 and 1-6.
"We are excited to grind out a road win tonight," said UCSD head coach Eric Olen.
For the 10th time this season, UC San Diego made over half of its shots, finishing at 50.9 percent after making good on 27 of 53 attempts. The team matched a season-low by turning the ball over just five times.
Drew Dyer continued his solid play, leading the Tritons with 20 points and eight rebounds. The senior forward also added three assists, a block and a steal. Adam Klie was just behind with 19 points, Chris Hansen had 16 and Aleks Lipovic totaled 10. Hansen, a freshman center, was 7-for-9 from the field.
"We did a good job on the defensive end in the second half," said Olen. "Offensively, I thought we were able to score in several different ways and we limited our turnovers. Those are things that typically lead to success."
The Golden Eagles shot 40.8 percent (20-49) overall and made only one of their eight three-point attempts. Geoffrey Frid had 18 points and nine boards while Dushon Carter had 16 points.
The lead changed six times over the first 13 minutes of the game. With 7:08 left in the opening half, Dyer hit two free throws to put UC San Diego back up, 23-22, and the Tritons led for the rest of the evening. They built a seven-point advantage and led 40-33 at halftime.
UCSD shot 57.1 percent (16-28) in the first half.
UC San Diego slowly increased its lead in the second half. On multiple occasions, the Tritons led by 13 points, the first coming at 7:46 when Koree Cox netted a three-pointer. Their largest lead of the contest was 14 when a Dyer free throw accounted for the final score.
The Tritons were coming off a season-best 54.2 percent shooting performance in a win at San Francisco State Thursday.
UCSD remains on the road next week, playing at Cal State East Bay on Jan. 15 and at Cal State Monterey Bay on Jan. 16. Both contests tip at 7:30 p.m.
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