SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - Chris Hansen recorded a double-double to help lift the No. 10 UC San Diego men's basketball team to a narrow 71-66 victory over league opponent Cal State San Bernardino Saturday night at Coussoulis Arena.
UCSD stretched its win streak to five games while improving to 18-3 overall. The 18 victories tie the most in a season since the team moved to NCAA Division II status for its 2000-01 campaign. Now 13-2 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), the Tritons remain in first place, just ahead of Chico State (12-2).
"We played with a lot of poise down the stretch tonight," said UCSD head coach Eric Olen. "When we had to get stops late, we got it done."
Leading by just a point, 65-64, with 5:13 left in the game, the Tritons went on a 5-0 run behind a Drew Dyer three and a layup by Hansen. Over three scoreless minutes passed as CSUSB missed four shots and turned the ball over twice. With 47 seconds remaining, the Coyotes made a pair of free throws, but would score no more as they were only able to get off one more shot before the final horn.
UC San Diego's largest lead of the game was nine, which came in the opening half. The Tritons led 38-31 at halftime. A mid second-half run by Cal State San Bernardino had the Coyotes up by seven, 61-54, their biggest edge of the night.
"We weren't able to execute, especially defensively, for a big portion of the game," said Olen. "San Bernardino deserves a lot of credit for that."
After shooting .267 and .410 in their last two games, the Tritons regained their sharpness tonight, hitting 51.9 percent (27-52) of their shots overall. It was the 14th time in 21 contests that the team has made at lest half of its attempts. In addition, UCSD equaled a season-high by draining 12 three-pointers.
Hansen totaled 11 points and 10 rebounds. It was the third double-double of the freshman center's campaign. Three other Tritons had 10 or more points including Adam Klie (15), Aleks Lipovic (11) and Drew Dyer (11). Klie matched a career-high with seven assists and Lipovic made four of his seven three-point shots.
For the Coyotes, Anthony January led all players with 16 points. Desi Barmore was just behind with 10. CSUSB (7-12, 4-11) made 41.8 percent (23-55) of its shots from the floor.
UC San Diego, which has already clinched a berth in the upcoming CCAA Tournament, has five regular season games remaining, four of those at home. The Tritons host Chico State on Feb. 12 and Stanislaus State on Feb. 13. Both games start at 7:30 p.m.
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