DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – UC San Diego ran out to a 14-point first half lead and erased a three-point second half deficit on the way to a 72-67 victory over previously-unbeaten La Salle in the first round of the Boardwalk Battle at Ocean Center on Thursday afternoon.
 
Three Tritons finished in double figures, led by a game-high 27 from Tyler McGhie. Nordin Kapic scored 18 and finished with a season-best 10 rebounds, and Hayden Gray added 14 and four steals.
 
UC San Diego improved to 3-2 with the win, while the Explorers fell to 4-1.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
UC San Diego came out ready to play, and the Tritons ran out to a 17-3 lead just five minutes into the contest. The Tritons hit three of their first six three-point tries – including a pair from McGhie and another from Gray. Meantime, on the other end, UC San Diego's defense limited La Salle to just one field goal in its first nine tries.
 
As UC San Diego cooled off, La Salle crept its way back into the game. The Explorers hit five of their final six first half shots, and the Explorers took the lead, 31-30, on a Daeshon Shepherd jumper with five seconds to go in the half.
 
The difference in the game to that point was literally Shepherd's field goal. The Explorers hit 11-of-30 field goal tries, the Tritons 10-of-30. Both teams were just 6-of-11 from the free throw line. La Salle held a 23-18 rebound advantage at the break.
 
McGhie led all scorers with 15 in the first half, connecting on three of his five three-point attempts.
 
The second half was tightly contested for most of the way, with both teams continuing to struggle from the free throw line. With four minutes to play, UC San Diego got back-to-back threes from Kapic and Gray to go up 64-57 with 3:14 left. During that stretch, the Explorers went more than seven minutes without a made field goal.
 
QUOTABLE
"Ultimately this was a good win against a quality team," said UC San Diego head coach Eric Olen. "There are plenty of things we need to clean up before tomorrow – this one was ugly at times – but overall, to beat a team like that in a tournament environment is a good start to the weekend."
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Nordin Kapic finished with 18 points and ten rebounds – the first UC San Diego double-double of the season. His ten rebounds marked a season-high for any Triton.
• Thursday was the first-ever men's basketball meeting between the Explorers and Tritons.
• The Tritons earned their first win of the season (1-2) when trailing at halftime.
• UC San Diego wore its white uniforms as the designated home team.

 
UP NEXT
UC San Diego will face James Madison in game two of the Boardwalk Battle at Ocean Center in Daytona Beach on Friday. Game time is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. PT. On Thursday morning, JMU downed UIC, 99-81 in the tournament's first game.
 
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.