DAVIS, Calif. – The 10th-ranked and second-seeded UC San Diego men's water polo team was narrowly upset, 14-13, by 16th-ranked and third-seeded California Baptist Saturday in a Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) Championship semifinal.

Triton Vedran Latkovic scored with 12 seconds remaining to tie the game 13-13, but the Lancers netted the game-winner with one second left to earn the win at the Schaal Aquatics Center on the campus of UC Davis.

Next up, UC San Diego (14-9) will take on fourth-seeded Loyola Marymount (11-14) in Sunday's third-place match at 10 a.m.

California Baptist (20-13), the reigning WWPA champion, advances to Sunday's championship match against UC Davis (17-8), the top seed. The Lancers have now won seven-consecutive games.

The tournament winner earns an automatic berth in the upcoming National Collegiate Championships.

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HOW IT HAPPENED
Down by a single goal with 12 ticks on the game clock, Latkovic took a pass from Manuel Augusto and, with a defender on him, fired a shot from six meters out on the left side that skipped past Lancer goalkeeper Tristan Felberg to even the contest at 13-13. Following a 30-second timeout by CBU, Augusto was ejected with eight seconds remaining and the Lancers took advantage of the man-up situation. Caleb Teraoka found himself with the ball about six meters in front of the net and launched a shot that beat Triton keeper Alexander Nemeth to his left for the winning goal.

UC San Diego played from behind the entire game until Latkovic evened it up in the fourth quarter. Trailing 13-10, the Tritons reeled off three-straight goals as Calder Hilde-Jones and Miles Wilson found the back of the net prior to the Latkovic equalizer.

The Lancers led 3-0 after one quarter, 7-4 at halftime, and 10-8 at the end of the third.

Hilde-Jones finished his day with a career-high five goals to keep his streak of at least one score in every game this season alive. Latkovic and Kaden Likins each scored three times, while Augusto and Wilson each had single goals. Augusto added three assists to his totals and Wilson was credited with two helpers.

Nemeth made 11 saves in the game, which included a point-blank stop to keep the Lancers from going up by two goals just before the Latkovic strike that tied it at 13-13.

The bulk of California Baptist's scoring came from P.J. McDonough (4), Joseph Griffin (3), and Teraoka (3). Felberg finished with 10 saves.

UC San Diego scored seven goals in 10 power play opportunities and Latkovic made good on a penalty shot mid-way through the fourth quarter.

Shots were 34-30 in favor of CBU. 

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TRITON TIDBITS
• UC San Diego was on the hunt for its 20th WWPA Championship title, the last coming in 2018.
• The Tritons have scored 18 times on 24 power plays (.750) over their two matches at the tournament.
• Sunday's match will be the fourth meeting with Loyola Marymount this season. The Tritons are 2-1 against the Lions.

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TOURNAMENT RESULTS/SCHEDULE
Friday, November 19 - First Round
Game 1: #9 Biola 10, #8 Fresno Pacific 9
Game 2: #2 UC San Diego 21, #7 Concordia 7
Game 3: #3 California Baptist 15, #6 Santa Clara 10
Game 4: #4 Loyola Marymount 13, #5 Air Force 6
Game 5: #1 UC Davis 21, #9 Biola 5

Saturday, November 20
Game 6: #8 Fresno Pacific 11, #7 Concordia 9
Game 7: #3 California Baptist 14 #2 UC San Diego 13 (Semifinal)
Game 8: #1 UC Davis 8, #4 Loyola Marymount 5
Game 9: #6 Santa Clara 17, #5 Air Force 16 (SV)
Game 10: #7 Concordia 10, #9 Biola 9 

Sunday, November 21
Game 11 (10am): #4 Loyola Marymount vs. #2 UC San Diego (Third-Place Match) (Watch Live | Live Stats)
Game 12 (12pm): #3 California Baptist vs. #1 UC Davis (Championship Match)

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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 began a new era in 2020 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 84 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have earned 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.