MISSOULA, Mont. – UC San Diego's unbeaten streak was snapped on Wednesday when the Tritons fell 71-61 at Montana in the first game of the Zootown Classic in front of 2,917 at Dahlberg Arena. The Tritons fell despite out-rebounding the Grizzlies, 38-24.
The Tritons are now 4-1 this season while Montana improved to 3-2 with the victory.
UC San Diego had won six straight dating back to last season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Playing in the friendly confines of its home court, Montana came out strong and built an early 16-8 lead over UC San Diego.
The Tritons cut into Montana's lead when
Vuk Vulikic buried a three to make it a three-point game at 20-17 with 9:23 left in the half.
Montana had a seven-point advantage once again – 25-18 – before the Tritons used a 7-0 run to tie the score. Buckets from
Toni Rocak and
Francis Nwaokorie followed by a three-pointer from
Jake Killingsworth evened the score at 25 apiece with 3:50 left in the half.
The Grizzlies got a Lonnell Martin shot to fall at the buzzer, giving the home team a 32-29 lead at the half. UC San Diego shot 50% from the floor in the first half (10-20), and the Tritons were led by Rocak's nine points.
UC San Diego out-rebounded the Griz in the first half, 17-9. The Tritons committed nine turnovers leading to just four Montana points.
Early in the second half, Montana rebuilt an eight-point lead but a dunk from Nwaokorie brought UC San Diego closer.
Down 45-36, the Tritons defense locked in, holding Montana without a FG for 4:39. During that span, UC San Diego drew to within five, 48-43, midway through the second half.
However, the Griz pulled away thanks to back-to-back three-pointers, pushing their lead to 59-45 with 7:31 left.
Montana eventually led by as many as 16 – which UC San Diego cut to seven on a three from
Kaden Rasheed with 1:59 to play – but the Tritons ran out of time.
Nwaokorie scored a career high 22 points and matched his personal best with eight rebounds to lead the Tritons. Rocak scored 14.
QUOTABLE
"I thought we competed and played hard, but we weren't quite sharp enough to pull it out on the road against a really good, well-coached Montana team," said UC San Diego head coach
Eric Olen. "We've got to clean some things up and keep getting better. We are capable of playing better and coaching better. There's no rest for the weary; we're right back tomorrow against another good opponent."
TRITON TIDBITS
- After connecting on just two three-pointers in Saturday's win at Sacramento State, the Tritons hit six on Wednesday. UC San Diego came into the contest tops in the Big West, averaging 9.8 three-pointers per game.
- UC San Diego's 61 points scored were a season low, and the 71 points allowed were a season high.
- The Tritons have now trailed all three of their road games at halftime. UC San Diego rallied for an 80-67 victory at Cal (Nov. 9) and a 71-56 win at Sacramento State (Nov. 20).
- Montana came away with eight steals while the Tritons were not credited with any.
- This was the first meeting between the Tritons and the Grizzlies.
UP NEXT
UC San Diego continues play in the Zootown Classic on Thursday when the Tritons face Southern Miss. Game time is scheduled for 5 p.m. MT from Dahlberg Arena. There will be no video stream, but live stats can be found on UCSDTritons.com with in-game highlights on Twitter
@ucsdmbb.
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.
