RIVERSIDE, Calif. - In a battle between the top two teams in the West Region Tuesday, No. 22 nationally-ranked UC San Diego fell by a score of 76-63 to fifth-ranked California Baptist on the road at Van Dyne Gym. CBU's Michael Smith poured in a career-high 42 points to fuel the victory for the Lancers.
It was the first loss of the season for UCSD, which dipped to 5-1. CBU stayed undefeated at 4-0. In this week's regional poll, the Lancers are No. 1 in the West and the Tritons are No. 2.
UC San Diego had leads in each half, the latest coming with 10:46 left in the game when two free throws by Anthony Ballestero put the Tritons up by one, 50-49. On the Lancers' next possession, Smith made a layup to put his team back in front and they held an advantage the rest of the way. He had 27 points in the half.
The Tritons led by eight points, their largest advantage of the game, late in the first half when Michael Shoemaker hit a three to put them up 29-21 with 6:38 until the intermission. CBU stormed back and was up by four, 37-33, at the break. Smith (15) and Jason Todd (12) accounted for 27 of CBU's 37 first-half points.
"I was proud of our effort tonight, but unfortunately we didn't play well enough to win," said UCSD head coach Eric Olen. "We'll take a lot away from this game that we can learn from and work to improve going forward."
UCSD was paced offensively by Christian Oshita, who finished with 15 points. Adam Klie had 10 points, six rebounds and four assists, while Eric Patton had a game-high eight boards to go along with seven points.
The Tritons were 4-for-6 from behind the three-point line in the first half, but just 1-for-9 in the second. Overall, they shot 45 percent (23-51).
Smith, the reigning PacWest Player of the Year, went 11-for-19 from the field with four three-pointers and made 16 of 17 free throws. His point total was just five short of setting a new school record. Smith also grabbed four rebounds and doled out three assists.
The Lancers shot 50 percent (23-46) in the game and hit at a 63 percent clip in the second half. They made nine treys and had seven blocks.
UC San Diego wraps up a four-game road trip by tipping off its California Collegiate Athletic Association slate at Cal Poly Pomona on Nov. 29 at 7:30 p.m.
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