DAVIS, Calif. – Four Tritons scored in double figures and a strong offensive second half led visiting UC San Diego to a convincing 92-59 victory at UC Davis Saturday afternoon in a battle of first place teams in The Big West. The Tritons' victory was the program's first inside University Credit Union Center, and, more importantly, propelled UC San Diego (13-7 overall, 8-1 Big West) into sole possession of the top spot in the conference standings (pending UC Irvine's Saturday night game; the Anteaters are 7-1).
 
Bryce Pope hit four three-pointers and scored 22 second half points to lift the Tritons to the road win. He finished with a game-high 29. Tyler McGhie matched his season-high with six threes and finished with 18. Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones scored 17 on 7-of-10 shooting and J'Raan Brooks added ten thanks to a pair of threes.
 
UC Davis (12-8, 7-2) was led by 22 points from Ty Johnson and 13 from The Big West's leading scorer, Elijah Pepper. Pepper came into the game averaging 21.5 points per game.
           
HOW IT HAPPENED
UC San Diego came out fast looking to make a statement, and the Tritons ran out to a 17-6 lead to begin the game, thanks to six quick points from Tait-Jones. UC Davis responded with a 6-0 run of its own, drawing to within five, at 17-12. Pope answered by burying a three from the wing to quell the home team's momentum.
 
The Tritons rebuilt an eight-point advantage but the Aggies tied it up at 33 and then again at 36 before a pair of Pope free throws gave UC San Diego a 38-26 lead at the break.
 
The first half was even statistically, with UC Davis committing seven turnovers and the Tritons six. The Aggies were 9-for-11 from the free throw line but just 1-of-8 from three. Conversely, the Tritons knocked down five threes, but sank just 5-of-8 from the line. UC San Diego held a slight 19-17 edge on the glass.
 
The Aggies' Johnson led all scorers in the first half with 16, with Pepper adding eight. Tait-Jones paced the Tritons with 11 on 5-of-5 shooting with Tyler McGhie hitting three three-pointers off the bench (nine points) and Pope adding seven.
 
Emmanuel Tshimanga had a game-high six rebounds over eight minutes off the bench.
 
When the second half began, Pepper hit a three to give UC Davis its first lead of the game. On the other end, J'Raan Brooks hit a three of his own, and the Tritons were right back on top. That Brooks three keyed a 11-0 run that included a three from Nwaokorie and a three-point play along with a jumper by Pope to put the Tritons up, 49-39. The run forced an Aggies timeout with 16:13 left.
 

Bryce with the reverse layup AND THE FOUL! ?? #GoTritons pic.twitter.com/XpnqM4Kdpx

— UC San Diego Men's Hoops (@UCSDmbb) January 27, 2024

The Tritons' run was 15-2 before the Aggies scored. But UC Davis was held without a field goal for more than four minutes, and the visitors extended their lead. The UC San Diego bench erupted when McGhie buried another three from the corner, forcing an Aggies timeout as the Tritons went up 15, 58-43, with 13:20 left.
 
UC San Diego took a 23-point lead, 60-47, following back-to-back threes from Pope. A short time later, it was a 12-2 run for UC San Diego that made the score 84-54.
 
The Tritons shot 54% after halftime, draining ten three-point shots.

TRITON TIDBITS

• The victory was the Tritons' eighth in Big West play – the most conference wins for UC San Diego during its transition to Division I.
• Saturday's 33-point triumph marked UC San Diego's largest ever margin of victory in a Big West game.
• The Tritons committed just one turnover after halftime.
• Center Emmanuel Tshimanga chipped in seven points and nine rebounds off the bench.
• Saturday was the third Big West meeting between these two teams at University Credit Union Center. All three games have held a two-point margin at halftime.
• Tritons head coach Eric Olen has used the same starting lineup in all 20 games so far this season: Hayden Gray, Bryce Pope, Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones, Francis Nwaokorie, and J'Raan Brooks.

QUOTABLE


UP NEXT
UC San Diego concludes the first half of Big West action Thursday when the Tritons welcome CSUN to LionTree Arena. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m. with live broadcasts on ESPN+ and KSDT Radio, as well as live stats on UCSDTritons.com. Tickets can be purchased through Triton Box Office.
 
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 Conference 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 83 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 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.