CHICO, Calif. – Fourth-ranked UC San Diego built an 18-point first half lead, then held off a surging Chico State squad in an 82-74 Tritons win Thursday night at Acker Gym. The victory was UC San Diego's 14th straight and improved the Tritons to 11-0 on the road this season.
 
UC San Diego remains atop the California Collegiate Athletic Association with a 16-1 conference record (22-1 overall), while the Wildcats fell to 16-5 overall and 11-4 in CCAA play. The Tritons also avenged their only loss of the season when Chico State won 81-73 in La Jolla on Dec. 5.
 
Sophomore guard Tyrell Roberts, the CCAA Player of the Week twice in the last three weeks, finished with a game-high 30. He hit 7-of-10 three-point tries in the win. Senior forward Christian Oshita contributed 20 points and was 5-of-9 from distance.
 
Unlike the previous meeting between these two teams, UC San Diego came out firing on Thursday night. The Tritons used early 3-pointers from Roberts and senior forward Scott Everman – who hit a pair, along with a layup from junior forward Marek Sullivan to build an early 11-4 cushion barely two minutes in.
 

Tyrell Roberts does not miss.

Tritons 22
Wildcats 6
11:00 first #GoTritons pic.twitter.com/5uSWS0aEEG

— UC San Diego Men's Hoops (@UCSDmbb) February 7, 2020

With 15:49 to play in the half, Roberts knocked down another 3, and the Tritons were up 19-4. At the 11:03 mark, UC San Diego stretched its lead to 18, 24-6, on a layup from Oshita.
 
The Wildcats began to battle back and scored just before time expired to cut their deficit to nine. UC San Diego led 37-28 at the half.
 
Roberts led all scorers in the first half with 15, connecting on 3-of-5 from beyond the arc. Sullivan added seven points and five steals, and Everman had six. As a team, the Tritons shot 43% while limiting the Wildcats to just 36% shooting. UC San Diego out-rebounded Chico State in the first half, 20-19.
 
In the second half, the Tritons again got hot from distance. Back-to-back threes from Oshita gave UC San Diego a 59-41 lead with still more than 13 minutes to play.
 
Playing in front of a raucous home crowd, Chico State never gave in. The Wildcats drew within four, 68-64, with five minutes remaining. UC San Diego used a 6-0 run to re-build the lead to 10 with just under 4:00 on the clock, and the Tritons were able to hold on from there.
 
Led by Roberts and Oshita, the visitors shot 46% overall and 53% (16-30) from long-range. Junior guard Mikey Howell finished with a game-high nine assists.
 
UC San Diego will enjoy a bye on Saturday before returning to RIMAC Arena next week for the final two home games of the regular season. The Tritons host Cal State Dominguez Hills on Thursday, Feb. 13, and Cal State LA on Saturday, Feb. 15. Both games will tip at 8:02 p.m., and both 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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