SACRAMENTO – Playing in his first game for UC San Diego, junior transfer
Tyler McGhie drained six three-pointers and scored 22 points as the Tritons rolled to an 83-52 victory over Sacramento State Monday evening at The Nest. Three Tritons finished in double figures and UC San Diego (6-5) sank 15 three-pointers in the win.
Francis Nwaokorie scored 12 and grabbed five rebounds, and
Bryce Pope contributed 11 points with five assists in the win.
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones scored seven and pulled down eight rebounds.
Sacramento State (2-8) committed 21 turnovers – the most forced by the Tritons so far this season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
It was a fast start for UC San Diego – the Tritons hit four of their first seven three-point tries to go up 16-5 just six minutes into the game. Tait-Jones hit a three and doled out four quick assists. The final triple of the sequence came from McGhie.
Meantime, the Tritons' defense limited the Hornets to just one field goal over their first seven tries – in a span of over eight minutes. During that same stretch, UC San Diego forced six Hornets turnovers.
Midway through the period,
Emmanuel Tshimanga went up strong for a put back bucket. Moments later, on the other end of the floor, he drew a charge and the UC San Diego bench erupted. The Tritons led 29-11 following a three from
J'Raan Brooks.
UC San Diego closed the first half on a 12-2 run as the Tritons' lead ballooned to 50-22 at halftime. UC San Diego drained eight three-pointers in the first half while forcing Sacramento State into 14 turnovers, which led to 18 Tritons points.
Pope and Nwaokorie scored nine apiece to lead the Tritons, with Tshimanga and McGhie each contributing eight.
The teams played fairly evenly after halftime, with UC San Diego out-scoring the Hornets, 33-30, in the second half. UC San Diego remained hot from long distance, knocking down seven more long balls.
QUOTABLE
TRITON TIDBITS
- Monday marked the most points the Tritons have scored on the road this season.
- UC San Diego out-scored the Hornets in the paint, 28-20.
- Dating back to its last game on Dec. 9 at Pepperdine, the Tritons converted 22 consecutive free throw attempts before a second half miss tonight.
- UC San Diego now leads the Division I series between the two programs, 2-1. The visiting team has won all three games.
- The Tritons earned their first victory away from LionTree Arena since a Big West win at UC Irvine in February.
- UC San Diego wore its blue uniforms for the fourth time this season.
- For the 11th consecutive game, UC San Diego's starting lineup was Hayden Gray, Bryce Pope, Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones, Francis Nwaokorie, and J'Raan Brooks.
UP NEXT
UC San Diego concludes its three-game road trip on Wednesday when the Tritons visit Cal for a 2 p.m. matinee contest in Berkeley. The game will air on Pac-12 Networks with 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.
