LA JOLLA, Calif. - A 12-point second half lead proved not to be safe as the 19th-ranked UC San Diego men's basketball team concluded its regular season Saturday night with a 64-62 conference loss to Sonoma State at RIMAC Arena.
UCSD fell to 20-5 overall and finished its California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) campaign at 15-5, in second place behind Chico State.
Drew Dyer hit one of his four three-pointers with 12:03 left in the game to give the Tritons a 12-point advantage, 47-35. However, the Seawolves started chipping away at the deficit over the next 10 minutes. Down by just two, 58-56, with 1:49 remaining, David Ahern hit a trey to give SSU its first lead since late in the opening half. UCSD hit a layup to briefly take back the lead before the Seawolves made a layup and stayed ahead the rest of the way.
Dyer finished with a game-high 16 points. Chris Hansen added 10, while Adam Klie had eight rebounds and four assists for the Tritons.
Sonoma State (14-12, 9-11 CCAA) was paced by James Slade's 13 points. Ahern totaled 10 and Luke Cochran led all players with 11 rebounds.
The Seawolves started the game with back-to-back three pointers to go up by a score of 6-0, their biggest lead of the game.
The teams split the regular season series as UCSD won by a score of 69-55 on Dec. 2 in Rohnert Park.
Saturday's game was the final regular season outing for seniors Dyer and Zach McMillan.
UC San Diego and Sonoma State will meet again in just three days in the first round of the CCAA Tournament as the second-seeded Tritons host the seventh-seeded Seawolves on Tuesday, March 1. The game is slated for a 7:30 p.m. tip at RIMAC Arena. Tickets are available for purchase at the venue on game day and are $10 for general admission and $5 for students, seniors and children.
The winners of the four first round games will advance to the semifinals at Stockton Arena on March 4. The championship game will be contested on March 5 in Stockton.
For complete CCAA Tournament info, visit the tournament central page.
CCAA Tournament First Round
Tuesday, March 1
No. 8 Cal State LA at No. 1 Chico State (7 p.m.)
No. 7 Sonoma State at No. 2 UC San Diego (7:30 p.m.)
No. 6 San Francisco State at No. 3 Cal Poly Pomona (7 p.m.)
No. 5 Cal State Monterey Bay at No. 4 Humboldt State (7 p.m.)
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