POMONA, Calif. – Making his fourth consecutive start, junior forward Marek Sullivan scored a career-high 17 points as the eighth-ranked UC San Diego men's basketball team rallied past Cal Poly Pomona, 66-56, Sunday afternoon at Kellogg Arena. With its third consecutive victory, UC San Diego moves to 11-1 overall and 5-1 in California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) play.
 
Cal Poly Pomona saw its six-game winning streak snapped. The Broncos are 8-3 overall and 4-2 in the CCAA.
 
The Tritons came in averaging more than 86 points per game but were limited to a season low 66.
 
"I was really impressed with the competitiveness and the fight that we showed today," said UC San Diego head coach Eric Olen. "It was kind of a rough game offensively but [Cal Poly] is maybe the toughest defensive team in the country, so you kind of expect that."
 
As expected, two of the top teams in the CCAA battled back-and-forth all afternoon. The first half featured five ties and six lead changes, as the Broncos led 27-24 at the half. Sunday marked just the second time this season in which UC San Diego trailed at halftime, and it was the first time the Tritons failed to score more than 30 points in the first half of a game.
 
Sullivan, senior forward Christian Oshita, and sophomore guard Tyrell Roberts led the Tritons with six points apiece in the first period. UC San Diego committed an uncharacteristic nine first half turnovers, but that led to just four Broncos points.
 
Tied at 37 with 11:38 left in the game, UC San Diego went on a 10-0 run highlighted by a pair of three-pointers from Sullivan and Oshita to go up 47-40 with 7:30 left.
 

Oshita knocks down the 3 near us!

Tritons by 3 with 9 minutes left at Pomona. #GoTritons pic.twitter.com/P5GvkSDIow

— UC San Diego Men's Hoops (@UCSDmbb) December 23, 2019

Despite entering the afternoon as the fifth-best free throw shooting team in the nation, the Tritons were an uncharacteristic 4-8 from the stripe late Sunday. However, UC San Diego drained its final 12 attempts down the stretch to seal the win.
 
"To go from not having been in a game like that to having success against a great team like that says a lot about our guys and our character," Olen added.
 
Roberts drained three 3-pointers and finished with 19 points to pace the Tritons. Sullivan added 17 on 6-of-8 shooting, while pulling down five rebounds. Oshita also added 17 points and 10 boards before fouling out with 3:18 left.
 
The Tritons controlled the glass, out-rebounding the Broncos, 37-25.
 
BJ Standley was Cal Poly Pomona's leading scorer with 13 points.

UC San Diego returns to the hardwood in the New Year, when the Tritons host Cal State Monterey Bay on January 2. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:02 p.m. from RIMAC Arena in La Jolla, 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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