LA JOLLA, Calif. – UC San Diego led from start to finish as the Tritons opened conference play with a 76-64 victory over Cal State Bakersfield Thursday night at LionTree Arena.
Bryce Pope led the way with 23 points for the Tritons (7-6, 1-0 Big West).
Francis Nwaokorie added 13 points, five rebounds and a career-high four steals in the win.
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones contributed 17 points and six rebounds.
As a team, UC San Diego came away with a season-best 13 steals.
Cal State Bakersfield (5-7, 0-1) has dropped three of its last four.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Pope got off to a strong offensive start for the Tritons, draining a pair of three-pointers and scoring eight quick points as UC San Diego took a 13-8 lead early on. Meantime, the Tritons' defense forced seven Roadrunner turnovers.
Up by two, 25-23, the Tritons closed the half on a 9-0 run to take a 34-23 lead into halftime. UC San Diego forced 12 turnovers by Cal State Bakersfield and the Tritons had eight steals (three from Nwaokorie). Pope led all scorers with 14.
After halftime, UC San Diego built its largest lead of the night, 42-28, on a pull-up jumper by
Hayden Gray. The Tritons extended their lead thanks to a four-point play from Pope, who was fouled on a corner three.
UC San Diego built a lead as large as 19 in the second half and led by double digits the rest of the way.
Gray finished with 11 points while matching his career high with six assists.
QUOTABLE
TRITON TIDBITS
- UC San Diego has now won its last three Big West openers.
- The Tritons improved to 6-1 at home this season.
- Thursday was Hayden Gray's fifth game of the season with five or more assists.
- Pope's 23-point effort marked his third 20-plus point game this season and the 20th of his UC San Diego career.
- UC San Diego's starting lineup consisted of Hayden Gray, Bryce Pope, Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones, Francis Nwaokorie, and J'Raan Brooks – the same lineup Eric Olen has started with in every game this season.
UP NEXT
The Tritons hit the road for the first time in conference play, traveling to UC Santa Barbara (Thursday, 7 p.m.) and Cal State Fullerton (Saturday, 6 p.m.) next week. Both games will air live on ESPN+ with live stats 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.
