LA JOLLA, Calif. – Three Tritons finished in double figures and UC San Diego used a 17-0 spurt late in the first half to key a 67-61 victory over Hawai'i Saturday afternoon at LionTree Arena. With the win, the Tritons (12-7 overall, 6-1 Big West) pulled to within a half game of UC Davis atop The Big West standings.
The victory was the first-ever for UC San Diego against the Rainbow Warriors as the Tritons improved to 8-1 at home.
Bryce Pope led the way in the scoring column for the Tritons with 21.
Tyler McGhie added 14 and
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones chipped in 13 and a team-best six rebounds to go along with three steals.
Hawai'i dropped to 10-9 overall and 2-5 in conference play with the setback.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Hawai'i came out with the hot hand from distance, connecting on four of their first seven shots – all from beyond the three-point arc. The Rainbow Warriors led through the first eight minutes, 12-9. For the Tritons, it was Pope scoring the team's first nine points.
During that stretch, the UC San Diego defense forced the visitors into a pair of shot clock violations. However, Hawai'i continued to shoot the ball well and built a 24-16 lead with 6:40 to play in the first half – marking the Tritons' largest home deficit at any point so far this season.
UC San Diego responded with a 17-0 spurt of its own over a five-minute stretch, taking a 30-24 lead with a minute left on the clock. The Tritons held a 35-26 lead at halftime.
Pope led the way with 13 in the first half on 6-of-10 shooting, with
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones adding 10. UC San Diego forced 14 Hawai'i turnovers in the first half, leading to 18 Triton points. UC San Diego scored 20 points in the paint and shot 50% overall (13-for-26). The Rainbow Warriors hung around by sinking six three-pointers.
In the second half,
Tyler McGhie began to heat up as UC San Diego built a 10-point lead with six minutes remaining. McGhie finished with 11 after halftime and two more made three-pointers.
Hawai'i hung around, but UC San Diego's success at the free throw line in the closing moments sealed another home triumph.
QUOTABLE
TRITON TIDBITS
- Saturday's game featured the top two shooting teams in The Big West: the Tritons came in averaging 9 per game and the Rainbow Warriors 7.9.
- Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones was 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the first half – the only free throw attempts by either team over the game's first 20 minutes.
- The Tritons forced 20 UH turnovers, leading to 26 UC San Diego points.
- The game featured three ties and five lead changes.
- UC San Diego's used the same starting lineup for the 19th consecutive game: Hayden Gray, Bryce Pope, Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones, Francis Nwaokorie, and J'Raan Brooks.
UP NEXT
UC San Diego will be back inside LionTree Arena Thursday to host UC Riverside on Spirit Night at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased through
Triton Box Office and the game will air live on ESPN+ and KSDT Radio 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.
