ISLA VISTA, Calif. – UC Santa Barbara used a pair of big first half runs to down visiting UC San Diego, 84-53, on Saturday evening inside the Thunderdome. The Gauchos won their fourth straight, improving to 8-3 overall and 4-2 in Big West play. The Tritons fall to 2-3 (0-2).
 
Junior forward Toni Rocak grabbed a career high seven rebounds and led the Tritons in the scoring column with 16. Junior guard Kaden Rasheed added a personal best seven off the bench over 14 minutes.
 
The game started with a quick pace, and UC Santa Barbara led 9-6 five minutes into the contest. Redshirt freshman Bryce Pope, senior Gabe Hadley, and grad transfer Jake Killingsworth scored quick points for the Tritons.
 
From there, the Tritons struggled to hit shots. The Gauchos used a 16-3 run to take a 25-11 lead with still 9:06 left in the half. UC San Diego's bucket during that stretch was a three-pointer from Hadley.
 

Shot clock winding down? No problem for the birthday boy, @HoodieHadley! pic.twitter.com/AS2AfYJlUD

— UC San Diego Men's Hoops (@UCSDmbb) January 17, 2021

The Gauchos went on another long run and connected on a three-pointer as time expired, taking a 42-18 lead into halftime.
 
Hadley led the Tritons with eight first half points. The UC San Diego defense forced nine UCSB turnovers in the first half.
 
UC San Diego scored 26 points in the paint and got 28 points off the bench in Saturday's game. All 13 Tritons who were dressed played at least four minutes.
 
QUOTABLE
"We gotta get back to work," said UC San Diego head coach Eric Olen when asked about his message to the team. "We've got to learn from it and hopefully the experience of playing a really good team like that will make us better going forward, make us more prepared for our next opponent."
  

TRITON TIDBITS

• The Tritons shot a season-best 83.3% from the free throw line (10-12).
• UC San Diego has dropped consecutive road games for the first time since Feb. 7-9, 2019. Between Feb. 10, 2019 and Jan. 14, 2021, the Tritons went 17-1 on the road.
• The times for next week's Big West games against UC Davis have been adjusted to accommodate the Aggies travel. Friday's game will tip at 4 p.m., and Saturday's contest starts at 2.

UP NEXT
UC San Diego returns to RIMAC Arena on Jan. 22 and Jan. 23 to host UC Davis for a pair of Big West games, with Friday night being virtual Spirit Night. Both contests will be broadcast on ESPN3.
 
About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program has begun a new era as a member of the Big West Conference in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 37 have garnered prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDTritons.com or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.