BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – For the second straight game, UC San Diego let a double-digit second half lead slip away and host CSU Bakersfield earned a 56-52 win over the Tritons Saturday afternoon at the Icardo Center. The setback was the fourth consecutive for the Tritons (6-11 overall, 1-4 Big West).
CSU Bakersfield erased a 14-point second half deficit, improving to 6-11 overall and 2-4 in The Big West.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Francis Nwaokorie helped the Tritons get off to a fast start. A
Jace Roquemore driving layup got UC San Diego on the board before Nwaokorie ripped off five straight to give the Tritons a 7-0 lead at the first media timeout five minutes after tip.
After missing their first five field goal attempts, the Roadrunners got on the board and drew to within four. But UC San Diego continued to knock down shots and the Tritons built a 13-point lead, 27-14, late in the half.
Nwaokorie led all scorers with 11 first half points on 5-of-7 shooting as the Tritons took a 30-18 lead into halftime. UC San Diego forced nine CSUB turnovers, leading to 13 points on the other end. The Tritons scored 14 points in the paint in the first half.
After halftime,
Bryce Pope scored nine quick points in the first four and a half minutes as the Tritons maintained their 12-point advantage.
CSU Bakersfield started to chip away slowly, and then mounted a furious comeback. The Roadrunners tied the game, 50-50, with 3:25 to play – thanks to a 9-0 spurt. Meantime, the Tritons were scoreless for better than five minutes.
The home team took its first lead of the game on a long jumper from Modestas Kancleris with 2:05 left. A three from Ugnius Jarusevicius made the run 14-0 while the scoreboard read CSUB 55, UC San Diego 50 with just 80 seconds left.
The Tritons broke the drought on an
Emmanuel Tshimanga dunk with 1:06 to play, but the Roadrunners hit a late free throw to put the game out of reach.
QUOTABLE
"I'll have to look at the film, but we couldn't generate the looks we wanted to on the offensive end and we couldn't get the stops we needed to on the defensive end," said UC San Diego head coach
Eric Olen. "We've got to stick together. It's frustrating to have the same situation repeat itself but we've got tough kids. They'll work through it."
TRITON TIDBITS
- Nwaokorie and Pope led UC San Diego with 16 points apiece. Tshimanga grabbed eight rebounds.
- The Tritons shot 39% after halftime.
- UC San Diego is now 1-3 at Icardo Center since moving to Division I and the Tritons are 2-3 against the Roadrunners as Big West foes.
- UC San Diego used a starting lineup of Jace Roquemore, Bryce Pope, Jake Kosakowski, Francis Nwaokorie, and Emmanuel Tshimanga – the fifth starting lineup the Tritons have used this season.
UP NEXT
UC San Diego returns to LionTree Arena for a Monday matinee against UC Davis. Game time is scheduled for 3 p.m. with the action airing live on ESPN+ and KSDT radio. Tickets can be purchased through the
Triton Box Office.
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 90 percent, the highest rate among public institutions in Divisions I and II.
