LA JOLLA, Calif. – In a game that came down to the final minute, UC San Diego (20-11 overall, 14-5 Big West) suffered a 70-63 loss to UC Davis (18-12, 13-6) Thursday night at LionTree Arena.
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones led UC San Diego's scoring with 18 points, accompanied by 16 from Bryce Pope; Pope also led with 3 assists.
Francis Nwaokorie contributed 11 points and led the defense with 13 rebounds and a block for his third double-double of the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Aggies got off to an ideal start, creating a 12-4 advantage via three consecutive three-pointers. Despite a timeout and tighter defense, the Tritons could not halt the Aggies who continued to convert shots; the visitors finished the half with a 59% field goal percentage.
An unrelenting UC Davis defense stalled an ordinarily fluid UC San Diego offense, forcing nine turnovers by halftime. At one point, the Tritons failed to score a point in over six minutes, wherein the Aggies went on a 16-0 run to make it 19-4.
Camden McCormick broke the drought with a second-chance layup, spurring a surge of seven unanswered points. The run was capped off by a
Francis Nwaokorie corner three to make it 21-13.
Undeterred, the Aggies' Elijah Pepper hit consecutive threes to retain the double-digit lead; Pepper finished the half with 16 points. The Tritons shifted to a rapid pace on offense to earn their points, with
Bryce Pope leading the way as he scored seven of his nine points in the final four minutes of the half.
UC San Diego put 20 more points on the Aggies to make it 43-33 going into halftime; this surge contributed to a 50% halftime field goal percentage for the Tritons.
The Tritons built on their first half momentum, cutting the lead down to six with a three and a pair of layups. UC San Diego also reinforced their defense, holding UC Davis to 2-of-10 from open play by the half's midpoint. The Tritons recorded two blocks and forced three turnovers during this stretch.
The hosts were held to this six-point breadth for the better half of the second period, prior to a Tyler McGhie three that broke past the Aggie stand to draw them within a possession at 50-47 with ten minutes remaining.
The two teams maintained a one-possession distance throughout the game's final minutes. A Pope three-pointer cut the deficit to two, 60-58, , the closest of the game since the third minute of the first half.
Five uninterrupted Aggie points reestablished a wide 65-58 cushion only broken by an Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones free throw. A layup from Tait-Jones made it 65-61 with less than 2 minutes remaining.
TRITON TIDBITS
QUOTABLE
UP NEXT
The Tritons conclude the regular season at home on Saturday against Cal Poly. The two teams' last meeting ended 86-61 in favor of UC San Diego. Prior to the 4 p.m. game, the Tritons will honor their four seniors. Tickets can be purchased through
Triton Box Office and the game will be streamed
live on ESPN+ with live statistics 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.
