BELMONT, Calif. – The fourth-ranked UC San Diego men's basketball team is off to the best start in its Division II history after the Tritons rolled to a 95-63 win at Notre Dame de Namur on Saturday night in the NDNU Thanksgiving Classic. UC San Diego is 8-0 for the first time since joining NCAA Division II for the 2000-01 season. The Tritons are in their final Division II season before moving to Division I and the Big West Conference in 2020-21.
 
Junior forward Marek Sullivan scored a career-high 14 points off the bench in the win, which was UC San Diego's fifth victory by 25 points or more this season.
 
"I'm proud of the defensive intensity we showed tonight," said UC San Diego head coach Eric Olen. "Marek and Mikey [Howell] did a great job taking [NDNU] out of what they wanted to do. Our guards continued making great decisions on the floor, our shot quality was great, and our execution was good."

Like so many of its previous contests, UC San Diego was on fire early from the field, hitting eight of its first 10 shot attempts to take an 18-8 lead less than five minutes into the game. The Tritons shot the ball well throughout the first half, connecting on 65.6% of their field goal attempts (21-32). In fact, the visitors missed only one field goal try from inside the three-point arc in the first half.

Sullivan already established a new career-high with 12 points in the first half on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting. Senior guard Christian Oshita added 10 first half points, and junior guard Mikey Howell scored eight points while dishing out eight assists in the first.

Limited by foul trouble in the first half, senior center Chris Hansen's second field goal of the night was the 500th of his career. He currently sits second all-time in UC San Diego's Division II history with 503 field goals – trailing Adam Klie, who made 561 shots between 2013-2017.

For the second consecutive night, UC San Diego established a new season-high field goal percentage. On Saturday, the Tritons connected on 65.5% percent of their shots (38-58). UC San Diego had its way inside throughout the game, outscoring the Argonauts (1-5) by a 52-14 margin in the paint.

Four Tritons scored in double figures, led by 16 from Oshita, Sullivan's 14, and 12 from Hansen. Sophomore guard Tyrell Roberts contributed 10 points and four assists, and junior guard Gabe Hadley poured in a season-high nine.

Howell finished the night with 12 helpers – matching his career best – with just one turnover. UC San Diego was credited with a season-high 27 team assists – the sixth time in its first eight games that the Tritons have registered 20 or more assists in a game.

UC San Diego returns to RIMAC Arena on Thursday, when the Tritons host Chico State in a CCAA contest. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN3.
 
About UC San Diego Athletics
With 30 national team championships, nearly 150 individual titles and the top student-athlete graduation rate among Division II institutions in the United States, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program annually ranks as one of the most successful in the country.  The Tritons sponsor 23 intercollegiate sport programs that compete on the NCAA Division I and II levels and, in summer 2020, will transition into full Division I status as a member of the Big West Conference.  UC San Diego student-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent.  A total of 82 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 37 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships.  In competition, more than 1,300 UC San Diego student-athletes have earned All-America honors.

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