LA JOLLA, Calif. - Backed by a game-high 21 points from Adam Klie, the 20th-ranked University of California San Diego men's basketball team picked up a 70-60 win against Cal State San Bernardino in California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) action Friday night at RIMAC Arena.
UC San Diego is now 8-2 overall and 3-0 league play, while CSUSB is 5-3 and 1-2.
Klie was 7-for-12 from the field and made a pair of three-pointers. The senior guard went 5-for-8 from the free throw line while also collecting seven rebounds, five assists, a block and a steal.
It was Klie's third game of the season with 20-plus points. He dropped a career-high 25 versus Concordia Portland on Nov. 18.
Freshman forward Scott Everman, who got his first career start, and sophomore center Chris Hansen each contributed 12 points. Hansen corralled a game-high eight rebounds to go along with two blocks and an assist.
The Tritons made 21 of their 50 shot attempts, good for a 42 percent performance. They hit nine threes and were 19-for-24 from the charity stripe. UCSD turned the ball over just eight times after entering the night averaging 9.8 per game, a mark that leads the conference and ranks sixth in the nation.
Dorian Butler totaled 16 points for the Coyotes, who shot 40 percent (19-48) for the night. Blake McBride grabbed seven rebounds.
The lead changed hands several times in the first half. With the score even at 25-25, Hansen made two free throws with 5:20 left in the stanza to put the Tritons up and they would stay in front the rest of the way. UC San Diego led by four, 33-29, at the intermission.
Back-to-back threes by Klie and Everman early in the second half pushed the Tritons' lead to 11. With 12 minutes left in the contest, junior guard George Buaku hit a jumper in the paint that widened the spread to 17 points (55-38), which would be his team's largest lead of the evening.
San Bernardino's Nolan Kelly hit a trey with 48 seconds left to get the Coyotes back within 10, but it would prove to be the final points of the game.
UC San Diego hosts CCAA opponent Cal State Dominguez Hills (5-3, 1-1) on Monday, Dec. 19 at 4 p.m. The Toros were routed, 86-60, at Cal State LA Friday night.
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