LA JOLLA, Calif. – UC San Diego senior
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones scored 25 points on 9-of-11 shooting as the Tritons rolled to a 94-76 Homecoming win over Pepperdine in front of a spirited crowd of 3,688 Saturday night at LionTree Arena. Tait-Jones was one of five UC San Diego players to finish with double figures in the scoring column, joined by
Tyler McGhie (20),
Hayden Gray (14),
Nordin Kapic (13) and
Justin Rochelin (11).
Both teams are now 1-1 on the season following Saturday's game. Pepperdine was paced in the scoring column by Stefan Todorovic's 33 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
UC San Diego led for more than 17 of the first 20 minutes, and the Tritons closed the first half on a 9-0 run to take a 47-32 lead into halftime. McGhie (14), Tait-Jones (10) and Gray (10) all poured in double digits in the first half. The Tritons drained seven of their 17 first half three-point tries.
On the other end of the floor, UC San Diego forced eight Pepperdine turnovers leading to 16 Triton points.
UC San Diego was scorching hot from distance in the second half, draining seven of its 14 three-point attempts in the first 11 minutes of the period. UC San Diego used an 8-0 run over 75 seconds to go up 82-58.
Pepperdine responded with a 15-2 run to climb back into it, trailing 84-73 with 3:43 left. The Waves kept the Tritons off the board for nearly five minutes in that stretch.
UC San Diego's defense buckled down and a couple of clutch buckets helped the Tritons gain some space late to earn the home win.
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TRITON TIDBITS
UP NEXT
UC San Diego hosts Sacramento State on Military Appreciation Night on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased through Triton Box Office. The game can be seen on ESPN+ with Steve Quis and John Kentera calling the action. Live stats will be available 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.
