SEATTLE – Seattle U's Cameron Tyson scored a game-high 28 points to lead the Redhawks to a 79-67 victory over visiting UC San Diego Sunday afternoon inside Redhawk Center on the Seattle U campus. Triton senior
Bryce Pope sank four three-pointers and finished with 22 to lead UC San Diego.
The Tritons (4-2) have dropped two straight; Seattle U (4-2) has won its last two.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Redhawks got off to a hot shooting start, knocking down 10 of their first 16 shot attempts in building a 20-12 lead midway through the first. The Tritons began to cut into the deficit, getting nine from Pope and eight quick points from
Francis Nwaokorie.
UC San Diego was trailing by five when Seattle U ripped off a 9-0 run to go up 34-20 – its largest lead of the first half. The Tritons went nearly five minutes without scoring while committing four turnovers during that stretch until
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones broke the scoring drought with a pair of free throws.
Hayden Gray also drained a pair from the line – the Tritons were 8-of-10 from the stripe in the first half – but UC San Diego went the final 7:20 of the period without a field goal.
Seattle U led 36-25 at halftime. The Redhawks had 18 points in the paint to six for the visitors.
After halftime, Seattle U was up 42-28 before a 6-0 run for the Tritons cut the deficit to single digits. The Tritons shot the ball much better in the second half, connecting on nine of their first 14 shot attempts (64%).
The Redhawks built their lead back up to 12 at 67-55 with four minutes to play. UC San Diego drew closer thanks to a three-pointer and a driving layup from
Hayden Gray.
However, Seattle U hit five free throws in the final minute of play to seal the win.
QUOTABLE
"They're a difficult matchup for us where they force you into picking your poison," said UC San Diego head coach
Eric Olen. "I liked the way we responded throughout the game in terms of competitiveness and physicality. We gave ourselves an opportunity to win on the road against a really tough team. We have a lot of things we need to get better at, but if we compete that way we'll put ourselves in a good position more times than not."
TRITON TIDBITS
- Seattle U's 11-point halftime lead marked the Tritons' largest halftime deficit so far this season.
- The Tritons' 67 points were a season low.
- Sunday was the third-ever meeting between these foes. Seattle U won each of the matchups over the last two seasons.
- A free UC San Diego alumni event will take place at 5 p.m. Monday at Queen Anne Beerhall in Seattle. To register, visit https://web.cvent.com/event/de049e37-13f3-4aea-8507-321ad0c28915/summary
- A limited three-game VIP mini plan remains available for $65. The plan includes a ticket to games vs. San Diego State (Dec. 1), Hawai'i (Jan. 20), and UC Riverside (Jan. 25). Mini plans can be purchased through the Triton Box Office.
- For the sixth consecutive game, UC San Diego used a starting lineup of Hayden Gray, Bryce Pope, Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones, Francis Nwaokorie, and J'Raan Brooks.
UP NEXT
UC San Diego concludes its Seattle trip Tuesday night as the Tritons Washington. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m. from Alaska Airlines Arena with a live broadcast on Pac-12 Networks and live stats available 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 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 90 percent, the highest rate among public institutions in Divisions I and II.
