LA JOLLA, Calif. – UC San Diego claimed a competitive 76-69 victory over Cal State Fullerton Saturday evening at LionTree Arena. The Tritons (17-9 overall, 11-3 Big West) have won both matchups against the Titans for the second time since joining the Big West in 2020.
First-year Triton Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones peppered in a team-leading 20 points, while also snagging 6 rebounds. Four other Tritons — Tyler McGhie, Hayden Gray, Francis Nwaokorie, and Bryce Pope — reached double figures, scoring 16, 15, 12, and 10, respectively.
J'Raan Brooks led UC San Diego on defense, collecting seven defensive rebounds and a block. Nwaokorie accompanied with three blocks and a steal.
The loss was the fifth straight for Cal State Fullerton (11-15, 4-10).
HOW IT HAPPENED
Coming off a double-double performance against UC Santa Barbara Thursday that pushed him over 1,000 career points and 500 career rebounds, Francis Nwaokorie set the tone Saturday with consecutive three-pointers. The score stood at 11-5 by the first media timeout thanks to a J'Raan Brooks block that helped put CSUF at 2-of-8 shooting from the field.
Both teams struggled to record points during the middle of the period, with the Tritons going 1-of-7 on a two-minute scoring drought. Fullerton recorded three turnovers that kept them from scoring for over three minutes.
Hayden Gray stepped up in the closing minutes of the half, converting three contested layups. His second, a steal-and-score, was one of four steals the Tritons collected during the first 20 minutes. Gray ended with a three-pointer to up his total to 11 points.
Despite holding the Titans to a 40% field goal percentage, UC San Diego had trouble dealing with DJ Brewton, who scored a game-leading 12 points going into halftime. The Tritons were up 39-23 by the halftime buzzer.
Both teams struggled to get things going in the second half. UC San Diego notched four points over four minutes, mirrored by CSUF's three.
A media timeout proved to be the key for Tyler McGhie, who swished back-to-back corner threes. The Titans also caught fire, however, going 7-of-7 from the field for 16 points.
Nwaokorie broke the streak with a blocked layup, following it up with another block that was converted into a fast-break layup to make it 59-44. This score was part of the Triton's own string of points, consisting of a 5-for-5 run for 10 points.
The Titans continued to press offensively, at one point going on a 7-0 run over two minutes to get within 7 points of the Tritons. Brewton continued to test the hosts, scoring 18 points in the half, 39% of CSUF's second half points.
UC San Diego was able to outlast the looming CSUF comeback, securing the victory with two McGhie free throws to end the game 76-69.
TRITON TIDBITS
QUOTABLE
UP NEXT
UC San Diego travels north to take on UC Riverside on Thursday. The Tritons secured a tight 66-65 victory last month to improve to 7-18 all-time against the Highlanders. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at SRC Arena with live coverage on ESPN+ and 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 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.
