SEASIDE, Calif. – The fourth-ranked UC San Diego men's basketball team led from start to finish on Saturday afternoon at Cal State Monterey Bay on the way to a program-record 18th consecutive victory. The Tritons rolled to an 84-64 win over the Otters inside the Otter Sports Center to improve to 13-0 on the road this season.

"We try to be consistent and play good basketball whether we are at home or on the road," said UC San Diego head coach Eric Olen. "Some of that is maturity from being a veteran team. They show up and compete."
 
With one game left in the regular season, UC San Diego is 26-1 overall and 20-1 in California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) play. The Otters' CCAA playoff hopes were dealt a big blow; they fell to 10-16 overall and 7-13 in the CCAA with two games to play.

UC San Diego got off to a strong start out of the gates. Junior guard Mikey Howell netted three quick assists, including a nifty pass that led to a transition 3-pointer from sophomore guard Tyrell Roberts. That gave the Tritons a 10-2 lead with 15:19 to go in the half. It was Howell's 189th assist on the season, which surpassed Bob Goodman '83 for a new single season UC San Diego record.
 

189 assists this season, and counting! Congrats @MikeyHowell23!#GoTritons pic.twitter.com/3UhRpzZhIV

— UC San Diego Men's Hoops (@UCSDmbb) February 22, 2020

"Mikey does a great job creating shots for guys," Olen said. "He's not just a great passer, but he can manipulate the defense to move guys around to get shots he wants. He sees the game really well."

With 12:30 to go in the first half, junior guard Gabe Hadley buried a three to give UC San Diego an 18-4 lead, forcing the Otters to take another timeout. Roberts continued to shoot the ball well from distance, connecting on three of his first four attempts from beyond the arc as the Tritons took a 26-14 lead with 7:56 remaining in the half.

UC San Diego led 40-26 at the half. Perhaps the most eye-popping stat over the first 20 minutes was the Tritons dishing out 10 assists while committing only one turnover (an offensive foul). Roberts was the only UC San Diego scorer to reach double figures in the first half, with 16 points on 6-7 shooting. The Tritons shot 44% overall and just 30% from beyond the arc. The Tritons forced eight Otters turnovers in the first half.

The second half got off to an inauspicious start for the Tritons when Roberts picked up his third foul less than a minute in. With the conference's leading scorer on the bench, the Otters used that opportunity to cut their deficit into single digits.
 
With 15:48 on the clock, Hadley buried a three to stretch UC San Diego's lead back to 10, 45-35. Senior forward Christian Oshita heated up from beyond the arc, and the Tritons built their lead back to 15 after Howell connected with Oshita on a 3-pointer. Howell came away with a steal and hit junior forward Marek Sullivan who threw down a tremendous dunk to give the Tritons a 64-50 lead. That slam helped jump-start an 18-2 UC San Diego run which put the game out of reach.
 
Roberts scored a game-high 25, connecting on 9 of his 13 shots. Oshita had another strong second half, finishing with 20 points (15 after halftime). Howell contributed five points, five rebounds, and seven assists, Sullivan scored 10 and grabbed seven rebounds, and Hadley added 10 points off the bench.
 
The Tritons shot 57% in the second half (50% for the game). UC San Diego was particularly effective in transition scoring 23 points on the fast break.
 
UC San Diego concludes the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 29 when the Tritons visit Cal State San Marcos. Game time is scheduled for 3 p.m.

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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