LA JOLLA, Calif. - The number of undefeated NCAA Division II men's basketball teams dropped by one Saturday as 13th-ranked UC San Diego dealt No. 5 Cal Poly Pomona its first loss, 72-69, at RIMAC Arena.
UCSD improved to 10-2 on the season and 5-1 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). CPP dropped to 12-1 and 5-1. The two teams sit in a four-way tie for first place along with Chico State and Humboldt State.
The Tritons equaled a season high with 11 three-pointers and out-rebounded the Broncos 41-34, which included a 13-7 advantage on the offensive glass. UC San Diego led for 26:29 of the 40 minutes, while Cal Poly Pomona was on top for just 6:35.
Drew Dyer, who recorded his 1,000th career point Friday, led UCSD with a game co-high 23 points, 15 of those coming via the three-pointer. The senior forward also grabbed nine rebounds. Adam Klie, a junior guard, notched his second career double-double with 15 points and a career-best 12 boards. He dished out seven assists, also a career-high.
Freshman center Chris Hansen and junior guard Aleks Lipovic each had 14 points for the Tritons. Lipovic made four treys and Hansen finished with three blocks.
All 72 of UCSD's points came from its starting five (Dyer, Hansen, Grant Jackson, Klie and Lipovic).
Jordan Faison had a double-double for CPP with 23 points and 12 rebounds. He also ended the evening with three blocks, two steals and an assist. Chris Sullivan totaled 11 points and Barry Bell had 10.
The Tritons led by as many as 11 points twice in the second half. With 4:39 left in the game, a pair of free throws by Dyer put them up 63-52. However, the Broncos battled back. With just 12 ticks remaining, Faison made two free throws to get his team back within two, 69-67. Dyer made another two from the charity stripe to give UCSD a four-point edge, but, with five seconds left, a Quentin Taylor jumper had CPP down by just two again, 71-69. Jackson was immediately fouled and made one of two free throws. The Broncos threw a long inbound pass that was intercepted by Dyer to end the game.
Cal Poly Pomona's largest lead was four as it held a 36-32 advantage at halftime. At the 9:26 mark of the second stanza, a layup by Klie put UC San Diego up 52-50 and the Tritons led the rest of the way.
The Broncos shot 41.8 percent (23-55) for the game and the Tritons made 39.7 percent (23-58) of their attempts.
UCSD is 3-1 against national top-25 teams this season.
With Cal Poly Pomona's loss, just two NCAA Division II teams in the country remain unbeaten - Queens University at 11-0 and West Liberty University at 10-0.
UC San Diego hits the road for the next two weeks. The Tritons play at San Francisco State (7-4, 1-4) on Jan. 7 and at Cal State L.A. (2-10, 1-4) on Jan. 9.
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