CHICO, Calif. - A late run by Chico State led to a 66-56 loss for the University of California San Diego Thursday night in California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) men's basketball action at Acker Gym.
Chico State outscored UC San Diego 16-5 over the final 7:24 of the game, which included a 10-0 run that put the Wildcats up by nine points, 60-51, with 4:44 remaining.
With its third loss in its last four games, UCSD fell to 16-9 overall and 13-6 in the league. Chico, which has won eight of its last nine, improved to 17-6 on the year and 14-5 in conference play. The rivals entered the contest tied for second place in the CCAA. Both had previously secured a berth in the upcoming eight-team CCAA Tournament.
"I thought we competed well and played with a lot of toughness in a very physical game," said UCSD head coach Eric Olen. "Unfortunately, we couldn't make enough plays down the stretch to get the win."
For just the fourth time this season, the Tritons shot under 40 percent, finishing at 39.2 (20-51). They were out-rebounded by a 39-26 count, with Chico State holding an 11-5 advantage on the offensive glass.
Individually, Christian Bayne had team-highs with 14 points and seven rebounds for UC San Diego. Christian Oshita finished with 10 points, while Michael Shoemaker had nine and Kenny Fraser had eight. Mikey Howell amassed five assists.
With 8:07 left in the opening half, Scott Everman hit a jumper that gave UCSD its first lead of the night, 20-19. A layup and a made free throw by Fraser with 27 seconds left in the half put the Tritons up by four (34-30), their largest advantage of the game. They were ahead by just a single point, 34-33, at halftime as Chico's Josh Lavergne drained a three-pointer at the buzzer.
Down 50-48 with 7:50 left in the second half, Bayne hit a trey to put UC San Diego in front, but it would be the Tritons' final lead as Justin Briggs made a layup to kick off the Wildcats' 10-point run.
The lead changed 12 times over the course of the game, which saw 36 fouls called.
Corey Silverstrom had a game-high 15 points for Chico State. The Wildcats made 41.5 percent (22-53) of their shots.
The teams split the regular season series as the Tritons earned a 73-50 win on Jan. 6 in La Jolla.
With three regular season games remaining, UC San Diego plays at Humboldt State on Feb. 17 at 7:30 p.m. The Tritons defeated the Lumberjacks, 83-73, on Jan. 5 at RIMAC Arena.
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