RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Three Tritons scored in double figures led by 16 from sophomore
Francis Nwaokorie, but it wasn't enough as host UC Riverside earned a 71-60 victory over UC San Diego Saturday afternoon inside SRC Arena.
Bryce Pope added 15 and
Roddie Anderson III contributed 14 for the Tritons, who fell to 8-14 overall and 3-7 in The Big West at the halfway mark of conference play.
The Highlanders (15-7, 8-2) got a game-high 23 points from Zyon Pullin in the win.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tritons got off to another blazing hot start, running out to an 11-3 lead at the 16:16 mark, forcing the Highlanders to call timeout.
Francis Nwaokorie hit a pair of threes and
Jace Roquemore buried on as UC San Diego was up 9-0 before UC Riverside got on the board.
The Tritons built a 19-9 lead midway through the first half before the Highlanders responded and got to within one at 24-23. UC San Diego used a 6-0 spurt to go back up, 30-23. Roquemore punctuated that flurry with a driving dunk through the lane.
The Highlanders hit eight of their last nine shots, including a floater from Lachlan Olbrich as time expired to take a 39-37 lead into halftime. UCR held a 24-16 advantage in points scored in the paint.
Nwaokorie led the Tritons with 10 in the first half with Roquemore adding nine points. UC San Diego hit 14-of-25 shots (56%).
After halftime,
Bryce Pope knocked down a three from the corner in front of the Triton bench to put the visitors back on top, 40-39. UC Riverside responded with a 7-0 run to go up 46-40 and force UC San Diego to call timeout with 16:28 still to play.
The Highlanders led 57-47 – their largest lead of the afternoon to that point – before a three from Nwaokorie drew UC San Diego to within seven. The sophomore kept the Tritons in it with yet another three with 4:22 left.
UC Riverside notched key buckets inside and hit free throws down the stretch to seal the win. The Highlanders finished with 44 points in the paint
QUOTABLE
"We had some trouble containing their penetration late in the first half, and they made some tough shots," said UC San Diego head coach
Eric Olen. "Ultimately, we played pretty well but they're a really good team and they made a few more plays. When you play a team like that, you don't have much margin for error. I'm really pleased with our progress from the start of conference play to where we are now. I thought we played better today than we did on Thursday even though we got different results."
TRITON TIDBITS
- Nwaokorie matched his career high with four made three-point field goals. He previously knocked down four trifectas in this building last February.
- UC San Diego fell to 6-7 this season in games decided by single digits.
- Both teams were credited with 13 assists and 10 turnovers.
- The Tritons have not been tied at halftime of a game all season.
- UC San Diego shot 36% after halftime.
- UC Riverside leads the series between these two schools 5-2 since the Tritons moved to Division I in 2020-21.
- UC San Diego used a starting lineup of Roddie Anderson III, Jace Roquemore, Bryce Pope, Jake Kosakowski, and Francis Nwaokorie for the fourth consecutive game.
UP NEXT
UC San Diego returns to LionTree Arena on Thursday night to begin the second half of Big West action when the Tritons host UC Irvine on Spirit Night. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m. and tickets can be purchased through the
Triton Box Office. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and KSDT radio.
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.
