SANTA ROSA, Calif. - The No. 11 University of California San Diego men's basketball team suffered its first conference loss Saturday, falling on the road by a score of 54-48 against Sonoma State at Haehl Pavilion.
UC San Diego led by as many as seven points in the first half, but SSU was in front for the final 15:15 of the game.
The loss, which snapped a seven-game win streak for UCSD, dropped it to 14-3 overall and 9-1 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). The Tritons are still in sole possession of first place in the league.
"I'm proud of our effort tonight," said UCSD head coach Eric Olen. "It was a hard-fought game and Sonoma made a few more plays than we did. It's always disappointing when you come up short, but we will learn from this one and work to get better."
For the fourth time this season, UC San Diego senior guard Adam Klie finished with 20-plus points, pouring in a game-high 22 on 8-for-13 shooting from the floor and a 6-for-8 performance from the free throw line. He also added five rebounds, three assists and a steal.
Sophomore forward Christian Oshita had 11 points and a game-high six boards. He made three three-pointers.
The Tritons made 37.5 percent (18-48) of their shots. They hit just six of their 21 three-point attempts, 28.6 percent. The team collected seven steals, a season-high.
The 48 points were the fewest scored by the Tritons since they had 41 at Cal Poly Pomona in January of 2016. Sonoma State leads the country in scoring defense, surrendering just 57.8 points per game to opponents.
SSU won its fifth-consecutive game to improve to 11-4 on the season and 7-2 in the CCAA, tied for third place. The Seawolves shot 45.9 percent (17-37) overall and were 50 percent (6-12) from behind the three-point arc. They also made 14 of 16 free throws.
Luke Cochran had 12 points and Armani Nicolis totaled 11 to lead SSU offensively.
Klie sunk a layup at the 14:12 mark of the first half to put UCSD up 13-6, the team's biggest lead of the game. Sonoma State climbed back in it and held a 20-18 advantage heading into the break.
With just over 15 minutes remaining in the contest, Sonoma State went ahead for good when Khalid Johnson's trey gave his team a 30-27 lead. A three by Jackson Gion at 9:01 put the Seawolves up by 10 points, 42-32, their largest spread of the night.
Freshman forward Scott Everman nailed a three-pointer to get UCSD back within three points, 49-46, with 28 ticks left on the clock. However, six seconds later SSU's Jimmy Golden converted an and-one to essentially seal the victory.
After four-straight road games, UC San Diego returns to La Jolla to host cross-county rival Cal State San Marcos (12-5, 7-3) on Thursday, Jan. 19 at 7:30 p.m. The Cougars have won their last five games.
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