LA JOLLA, Calif. – UC San Diego hit 16-of-29 (55 percent) from beyond the arc to defeat San Diego Christian 97-60 on Tuesday night at RIMAC Arena. The Tritons improve to 3-0 to start the season, with five players scoring in double figures.
 
San Diego Christian falls to 0-4 on the season with the loss.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
For the second game in a row, the Tritons found success early from beyond the arc. Back-to-back threes from Jake Killingsworth got things going for UC San Diego early in the first period and Jake Kosakowski added two more, as the Tritons hit 9-of-16 in the first half.
 
Trailing 10-8 with 13:36 to play in the first, the Tritons rattled off an 11-0 run to take the commanding lead, 19-10. 
 
UC San Diego shot 45 percent from the field and 56 percent from three-point range in the half. Led by Killingsworth's eight points, the Tritons went into the break with a 41-29 advantage.
 

Killingsworth back-to-back ??#GoTritons pic.twitter.com/JZyZlJQupL

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

 
It was all Tritons in the second half, shooting 59 percent (20-of-34) from the field and extending their lead by as many as 39 points on their way to the 97-60 victory.
 
Michael Pearson, Jr. made a splash in his first significant minutes of the season, at one point putting together a nine-point scoring run with 10:04 remaining in the contest.
 

Michael. Pearson. Jr. ??#GoTritons pic.twitter.com/JmzfCRvzHc

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

 
The Tritons got 67 points from their bench, compared to 28 for SDCC. Pearson, Jr. led all scorers with 18 points, a personal best for the freshman. Kosakowski finished with 13 points, Toni Rocak added 11, and Francis Nwaokorie and Justin DeGraaf chipped in 10 apiece.
 
Matt Gray led the way off the glass with eight boards, while Rocak finished with eight.
 
QUOTABLE

 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Tuesday's 97-point effort was the most points scored in a game by the Tritons since posting 101 in a win over Bethesda (Feb. 7, 2021).
• UC San Diego scored 56 second half points in the win. That was the most points scored by a Tritons team in one half since dropping 63 on Cal State Monterey Bay on Feb. 28, 2019.
• Justin DeGraaf (22) and Michael Pearson Jr. (21) led the Tritons in minutes played.
• UC San Diego turned the ball over seven times in Tuesday's win – a season low.
• For the third straight contest, UC San Diego's starting five consisted of Bryce Pope, Killingsworth, Rocak, Jace Roquemore, and Gray. 

UP NEXT
UC San Diego will travel to Sacramento State on Saturday to take on the Hornets (2-1) with tipoff set for 7:05 p.m. PT. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and live statistics will be available via UCSDTritons.com.
 
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 38 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.