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UC San Diego

Tyler McGhie
Kyle Terada
67
UC San Diego UCSD 6-6,0-0 Big West
71
Winner California Cal 4-7,0-0 Pac-12
UC San Diego UCSD
6-6,0-0 Big West
67
Final
71
California Cal
4-7,0-0 Pac-12
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
UC San Diego UCSD 27 40 67
California Cal 44 27 71

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

UC San Diego Erases 26-Point Deficit but Cal Edges Tritons

BERKELEY, Calif. – Down by 26 points, UC San Diego mounted a furious second half comeback to take the lead before ultimately falling, 71-67, at Cal Wednesday afternoon inside Haas Pavilion. Tyler McGhie scored 20 points on five three-point field goals and Bryce Pope added 14. Emmanuel Tshimanga led the way on the glass with nine boards for UC San Diego. The Tritons finish non-conference play with a 6-6 mark.
 
California (4-7) had five players post double figures in the victory, including a double-double from Fardaws Aimaq (19 points, ten rebounds).
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Cal got off to a blazing start, with the Golden Bears draining their first seven shots – including five from beyond the arc – to run out to a19-2 lead just three minutes in. On the other end, UC San Diego hit just one of its first ten field goal tries until a Hayden Gray three from the wing at 14:29.
 
California went up by 26, 34-8, before the Tritons found some success from beyond the arc. Gray hit his second of the half and Tyler McGhie knocked down a pair to cut the deficit under 20. From there, UC San Diego out-scored Cal, 19-10, for the remainder of the half but the Tritons were still down 17 at the break, 44-27.
 
The Golden Bears shot a sizzling 60% in the first 20 minutes (18-for-30) while UC San Diego converted just 25% of its shots (7-for-28).
 
Gray led the Tritons with eight first half points and Francis Nwaokorie grabbed four rebounds over the first 20 minutes. UC San Diego held a 20-17 edge on the glass, but Cal did score 22 points in the paint.
 
The tide turned after halftime and the Tritons came out with renewed confidence. UC San Diego sank five of its first ten shots and used a 7-0 run – capped by a three from McGhie in the corner – to draw within nine, 50-41.
   
The run for the Tritons was 17-3 and UC San Diego was back within a bucket, 50-48, on another McGhie three with still 11:48 left. For the first time in the game, UC San Diego forged ahead on a top of the key three-pointer from Pope at the 8:55 mark.
 
The run was 24-5 following a pair of free throws from Pope at 7:19, giving UC San Diego a 58-55 advantage. California responded with an 8-0 spurt to forge back ahead by five, 63-58, with three minutes to go.
 
Cal made enough big plays down the stretch to eke out the home win.
 
QUOTABLE
"You can't put yourself in that position against good teams," said UC San Diego head coach Eric Olen regarding Cal's strong start. "Clearly that was the difference but I was proud of our response to it. We never stopped fighting, we regrouped, and the last eight minutes of the first half we found a little better rhythm and obviously we played a lot better in the second half."
 
TRITON TIDBITS
  • The 26-point deficit erased was the Tritons' largest in the program's Division I era.
  • UC San Diego now leads the Division I series between the two programs, 2-1.
  • The Tritons out-rebounded the Golden Bears, 43-30.
  • Led by McGhie, UC San Diego had 28 bench points compared to 15 for California.
  • UC San Diego wore its blue uniforms for the fifth time this season.
  • For the 12th 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 begins Big West play on December 28 at home vs. Cal State Bakersfield. Tickets can be purchased through the Triton Box Office. The game will air on ESPN+ 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.
 
 
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