SAN DIEGO – UC San Diego battled San Diego State in a defensive struggle before falling to the Aztecs by a 62-46 score at Viejas Arena Tuesday night in front of a sellout crowd of 12,414.
Bryce Pope scored a game-high 20 points for the Tritons, who conclude non-conference play with a 5-7 record. The Aztecs improved to 9-3 with the win in their final non-conference contest.
San Diego State's 62 points scored matched a season low by a UC San Diego Division I opponent and was just two points higher than the Aztecs' own season low of 60.
The Tritons outscored the home team, 30-27, in the second half.
HOW IT HAPPENED
San Diego State got off to a fast start, beginning the game with an 11-0 run over the first five-plus minutes. UC San Diego hung tough on the glass, but the Tritons missed their first six shot attempts.
Bryce Pope broke the scoring drought with a baseline floater.
Though shots weren't falling, UC San Diego's defense kept the Tritons within striking distance. The Aztecs were limited to a 1-for-8 shooting stretch and held scoreless for over two and a half minutes and the Tritons drew to within 10.
Vuk Vulikic sank a three-pointer and made a strong defensive stop in the waning moments of the first half, and San Diego State took a 35-16 lead into the locker room. The Aztecs were led by 16 points from Darrion Trammell.
UC San Diego shot just 22% in the first half, with four points apiece from Pope and
Francis Nwaokorie leading the way.
After halftime, the Tritons worked to chip into the lead.
Roddie Anderson III grabbed a rebound and went the length of the floor to get UC San Diego on the board.
Meantime, UC San Diego kept San Diego State off the board for the first 5:33 of the second half. The Tritons got to within 13 at 35-22 thanks to a
Justin DeGraaf putback at the 15-minute mark.
The Aztecs responded with a 16-3 spurt over the next five minutes to go up 51-25 and put the game out of reach, though the Tritons ended the game on a 21-11 run.
Pope finished with a game-high 20 and the UC San Diego defense held Trammell to just two points after halftime.
QUOTABLE
"We got to a rough start, but once we settled in I thought we played a lot better," said UC San Diego head coach
Eric Olen. "For parts of the game we were able to get the shots we wanted and there's a lot we can build on – but we know there are a number of areas where we need to improve."
TRITON TIDBITS
- The Tritons' 16-point first half marked the fewest points UC San Diego has scored in a half this season and the 46 overall points were UC San Diego's fewest in a Division I game.
- UC San Diego used a starting lineup of Roddie Anderson III, Bryce Pope, Jace Roquemore, Francis Nwaokorie, and Emmanuel Tshimanga for the fourth straight game.
- With the loss, the Tritons are now 0-12 all-time against the Aztecs, including 0-2 in Division I.
- The series continues next season at UC San Diego's LionTree Arena in La Jolla.
UP NEXT
UC San Diego begins Big West play for the third time Dec. 29 with a pair of games on the road. The Tritons will play at Long Beach State (Dec. 29, 7 p.m.) and at UC Santa Barbara (Dec. 31, 4 p.m.) next week. Both games can be seen on ESPN+ with live stats on 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 began a new era in 2020 as a member of The Big West 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 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.
