LA JOLLA, Calif. – UC San Diego senior
Bryce Pope scored a career-high 32 as the Tritons outlasted UC Irvine, 92-88, in overtime Saturday afternoon in LionTree Arena. Pope's three-pointer with less than a second to play in regulation pushed the game into the extra period, where UC San Diego earned the win and improved to 13-1 at home.
The victory moved the Tritons (19-9 overall, 13-3 Big West) into a tie for first place with the Anteaters (20-8, 13-3) atop The Big West standings with four games remaining in the regular season.
Pope was one of four UC San Diego players to finish in double figures, with
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones adding 14,
Tyler McGhie and
Francis Nwaokorie scoring 11 apiece, and
Hayden Gray adding 10. Tait-Jones and Nwaokorie led the way on the glass with seven rebounds apiece.
HOW IT HAPPENED
As was expected, it was a physical contest. The first half was punctuated by runs from each side. The Tritons took an early 9-6 lead after a bucket from Pope before an 8-0 Anteater run gave the visitors a 14-9 lead. UC Irvine was up by nine and the Tritons responded with a 12-0 spurt to surge back ahead, 38-35, with 2:30 on the clock. An Andre Henry basket with 26 seconds left gave UC Irvine a 41-40 lead at the half.
The Anteaters held a commanding 19-11 lead on the glass in the first half, but UC San Diego still scored 20 points in the paint and shot 56% overall. Pope led UC San Diego with nine first half points, with Gray adding eight.
After halftime, UC Irvine was clinging to a 50-47 lead when the Triton offense exploded on a 14-0 run over a four-minute stretch. McGhie knocked down a pair of three-pointers and Nwaokorie added one. A baseline jumper from Pope forced a UCI timeout with the Tritons now leading, 61-50, with 12:11 left.
The Anteaters clawed their way back, hitting 10-of-12 field goal tries to regain the lead, 77-76, with 79 seconds to play. UC San Diego was held scoreless for 2:36 as UCI made its run. A driving layup by Tait-Jones put the Tritons on top by a point with 57 seconds left before a three from Andre Henry gave UCI an 80-78 lead with 35 seconds left.
After a free throw gave the Anteaters an 81-78 lead, the Tritons knew where to turn. With time winding down and his team trailing three, Pope hit a running three over two defenders to tie the game and send it to overtime.
In overtime, sophomore
Quin Patterson came off the bench and knocked down an enormous three-pointer from the corner to put the Tritons on top, 84-83.
UC San Diego closed out the win with four free throws down the stretch from Tait-Jones, who finished 6-for-6 from the line.
TRITON TIDBITS
- Saturday was only the second time this season UC San Diego has trailed at halftime of a Big West game.
- The win was the Tritons' first OT victory of the season in three tries.
- In the first meeting last month in Irvine, Bryce Pope was limited to eight points on 1-of-8 FG.
- Tyler McGhie (12 points) and J'Raan Brooks (nine points, three rebounds) fouled out for the Tritons.
- There were four technical fouls issued in the game – two for each team.
- The game featured six ties and ten lead changes.
- UC San Diego has used the same starting lineup in all 28 games so far this season: Hayden Gray, Bryce Pope, Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones, Francis Nwaokorie, and J'Raan Brooks. The Tritons are one of two Division I teams (along with Wisconsin) to use the same starting lineup in every game.
QUOTABLE
UP NEXT
UC San Diego hits the road for the final time in Big West play, visiting Cal State Bakersfield (Thursday, 7 p.m.) and CSUN (Saturday, 5 p.m.) next week. Both games will air live on ESPN+ 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 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.
