MONMOUTH, Ore. - Hot shooting propelled the No. 21 UC San Diego men's basketball team to its first-ever NCAA Division II Tournament win Friday as the Tritons defeated No. 20 Chico State, 76-64, in a West Regional quarterfinal match-up at Western Oregon University's New PE Building.
Second-seeded UCSD, which improved to 23-7, will take on 14th-ranked and third-seeded California Baptist in a regional semifinal on Saturday, March 12, at 5 p.m. Pacific.
With its 23rd victory, the Tritons equaled the program's all-time wins mark (23-4, 1990-91).
CSUC, the region's sixth seed, finished its season at 22-7.
The Tritons shot 57.8 percent (26-45) for the game, their best performance since 2013. They hit at a 58.8 percent (10-17) clip in the second half.
Freshman center Chris Hansen made a layup at the 17:38 mark of the first half to put UCSD up 6-4 and the Tritons stayed ahead the rest of the way. They led 37-27 at halftime.
UC San Diego scored the first five points of the second half on a layup by Adam Klie and a George Buaku three pointer to take a 15-point lead. The Wildcats got back within seven points on several occasions, the final coming with 3:11 left when Tanner Giddings hit a jumper to make the score 64-57 in favor of UCSD. However, the Tritons closed out the game on a 12-7 run to seal the victory.
Senior forward Drew Dyer finished with a game-high 22 points for UC San Diego. He was 7-for-11 with a trio of three pointers and a team-best eight rebounds in 38 minutes on the floor. Klie, a junior guard, contributed 20 points, going 6-for-8 from the field and 8-for-10 from the free throw line, while Hansen hit five of his six shots to finish with 10 points. Buaku, a sophomore guard, had eight points and four assists in his first start of the season.
For Chico State, Robert Duncan netted 19 points and Giddings had 13. Chris Magalotti led all players with nine rebounds.
The Wildcats shot 43.6 percent (24-55) for the game. The 76 points were the third-most that they had given up all season.
UCSD avenged a 77-71 regular season loss to Chico State on Feb. 12 in La Jolla.
UC San Diego was playing in just its second NCAA Division II tourney game in program history. In 2008, the Tritons were defeated by Alaska-Anchorage in the first round.
California Baptist (28-6) defeated Cal Poly Pomona, 70-63, in Friday's first quarterfinal to advance to the semis. The Tritons beat the Lancers, 76-67, back on Nov. 24 at RIMAC Arena in La Jolla. At the time, CBU was ranked fourth nationally and UCSD was receiving votes in the poll.
Saturday's 7:30 p.m. semifinal features top-seeded Western Oregon against Azusa Pacific, the fifth seed. The West Regional title game will be played on Monday, March 14 at 7 p.m. The champion advances to the NCAA Elite Eight, March 23-26 in Frisco, Texas.
All NCAA West Regional games will be covered by live video and live stats.
2016 NCAA Men's Basketball West Regional
New PE Building • Monmouth, Ore.
Friday, March 11 - Quarterfinals
12:00 p.m - No. 3 California Baptist 70, No. 6 Cal Poly Pomona 63
2:30 p.m. - No. 2 UC San Diego 76, No. 7 Chico State 64
5:00 p.m. - No. 5 Azusa Pacific 77, No. 4 Seattle Pacific 66
7:30 p.m. - No. 1 Western Oregon 82, No. 8 Humboldt State 65
Saturday, March 12 - Semifinals
5:00 p.m. - No. 3 California Baptist (28-6) vs. No. 2 UC San Diego (23-7)
7:30 p.m. - No. 5 Azusa Pacific (23-8) vs. No. 1 Western Oregon (28-3)
Monday, March 14 - Final
7:00 p.m. - Semifinal winners
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