LA JOLLA, Calif. – Redshirt sophomore guard and newly-minted CCAA Most Valuable Player Tyrell Roberts scored a career high 45 points – a CCAA Tournament record – as the fourth-ranked UC San Diego men's basketball team rallied past Cal State East Bay, 86-82, in a CCAA tournament semifinal. With Friday's matinee win, the top-seeded Tritons return to the conference championship game on Saturday, where UC San Diego will face second seed Cal Poly Pomona. The Broncos downed Chico State, 78-53, on Friday.
The victory was the 21st in a row for UC San Diego as the Tritons improved to 29-1 on the season.
Both teams shot 50% from the floor in the first half, but Cal State East Bay took a 38-35 lead into the locker rooms at halftime. The Pioneers (17-13) were 15-for-30 from the floor as compared to 12-of-24 for UC San Diego. The period feature six ties and seven lead changes. UC San Diego held a 15-12 rebounding edge, but the Pioneers forced 10 Tritons turnovers.
Roberts led the Tritons in the first half with 14 points. All-CCAA First Team selection Christian Oshita added nine.
In the second half, UC San Diego hit five of its first seven shot attempts to charge ahead, 48-45, with 15:54 to play. By that point, Roberts had taken over. He scored an astounding 22 points in the first 8:55 of the half as UC San Diego took a 66-53 lead.
UC San Diego built a 78-71 lead with 3:08 to play, but the Pioneers refused to go down without a fight. Cal State East Bay used a 7-0 run to tie the score at 78 apiece with less than a minute remaining.
Roberts knocked down another three to put the Tritons back in front, 81-78, with 37 seconds left. East Bay again tied the score thanks to a long-distance shot from Evan Wardlow with 28 seconds on the clock.
Roberts calmly banked in the game-winner with 3.2 seconds left. The Tritons went on to the four-point win.
His 45-point effort was the third highest individual point total in a CCAA game ever, and one point shy of the UC San Diego school record. Roberts was an astounding 16-of-21 from the field, including a remarkable 10-for-12 from beyond the arc. Roberts sank all three of his free throw attempts.
Oshita scored 11 in the win. Junior guard
Gabe Hadley added eight off the bench for the Tritons and junior forward
Marek Sullivan and senior center
Chris Hansen each contributed seven points.
As a team, the Tritons shot 52% overall and 15-30 from three-point range.
UC San Diego will host Cal Poly Pomona for the CCAA title on Saturday evening – the third straight year these two teams have squared off for the conference title. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:02 p.m. from RIMAC Arena, 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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