SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – Four UC San Diego starters finished in double figures as the Tritons won their fifth straight Big West game, 86-61, Saturday night inside Cal Poly's Mott Athletics Center. The victory was the 200th in the head coaching career of
Eric Olen.
Bryce Pope led the way in the scoring column with 17.
Hayden Gray scored 14 on a remarkably efficient 6-of-7 shooting.
Francis Nwaokorie scored 13 and
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones added 12 and a game-high seven rebounds. The Tritons controlled the game inside, outscoring the Mustangs 46-22 in the paint.
UC San Diego (11-6, 5-0 Big West) has won three straight road games and four of its last five away from La Jolla. Cal Poly dropped to 4-14 (0-6 Big West) with Saturday's loss.
HOW IT HAPPENED
UC San Diego got off to a fast start thanks to
Hayden Gray. The junior guard hit a three and a driving layup right out of the gate, and a bucket from
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones gave the Tritons a quick 7-0 lead less than 90 seconds in. Both teams shot well early, with the Tritons hitting five of their first eight shots and the Mustangs hitting 4-of-5 as the score was knotted at 11.
The Tritons put some distance between themselves and the home team thanks to a 14-5 spurt, keyed in part by a three-point play from
Francis Nwaokorie who dunked and was fouled.
UC San Diego closed the first half on a 12-2 run to take a 41-23 lead into the locker room at halftime. Gray, Pope, and Nwaokorie all had nine points with
Emmanuel Tshimanga chipping in seven. The Tritons scored 13 points off ten Cal Poly turnovers while UC San Diego only committed two turnovers of its own. The visitors hit 15-of-18 free throw tries.
In the second half, the Tritons hit 8 of their first 13 field goal attempts, stretching the lead at one point to 25 at 54-29.
UC San Diego was 4-of-8 from beyond the arc in the second half, including a pair of threes from
Michael Pearson Jr., and one
Justin DeGraaf.
The Tritons turned the ball over just five times in the win.
QUOTABLE
TRITON TIDBITS
- Saturday's 25-point margin of victory was the Tritons' largest-ever in a Big West game.
- UC San Diego matched its season-high with 22 made free throws.
- The Tritons improved to 5-0 in Big West play for the first time.
- UC San Diego entered Saturday's game with an NCAA NET ranking of 118 – second highest in The Big West.
- Eric Olen is the program's all-time wins leader as head coach. Tonight, he won his 200th career game. Last year in this building, he set a new program record with his 186th triumph.
- UC San Diego's starting lineup consisted of Hayden Gray, Bryce Pope, Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones, Francis Nwaokorie, and J'Raan Brooks for the 17th consecutive game.
- The Tritons wore their alternate gold uniforms for the third time this season.
UP NEXT
It's a first-place showdown of the two remaining Big West unbeatens on Thursday when UC San Diego (5-0) visits UC Irvine (5-0) at 7 p.m. The game 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.
