LA JOLLA, Calif. – UC San Diego built an 18-point second half lead and hung on down the stretch game as the Tritons earned a 92-87 victory over the Mustangs on Senior Day Saturday afternoon inside LionTree Arena. With the win, UC San Diego wraps its regular season with a 21-11 overall record, posting a 15-5 mark in Big West action. The Tritons will now wait and see if they are invited to participate in the College Basketball Invitational later this month.
 
Kobe Sanders had a strong game for Cal Poly (4-28, 0-20), scoring a game-high 29 and dishing out eight assists.
 
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones matched his season-high with 24 points with Bryce Pope chipping in 22 in the win. Francis Nwaokorie stuffed the stat sheet with 16 points and nine rebounds.
 
With the win, UC San Diego secured a second place finish in The Big West standings.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The game began at a breakneck pace, with UC San Diego clinging to a 24-23 lead with 7:55 to play in the first half. The Tritons knocked down five of their first eight three-point tries – including a pair from J'Raan Brooks – while the Mustangs connected on 11 of their first 20 field goal attempts.
 
The Tritons closed the half on a 10-0 run to take a 49-35 lead into halftime. Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones led all scorers with 13 on 5-of-8 shooting.
 

Throw it ????????, Niwa!#GoTritons | #SCTopTen pic.twitter.com/MHmVBz3ZQA

— UC San Diego Men's Hoops (@UCSDmbb) March 10, 2024

UC San Diego connected on 60% of its shot attempts (18-30) and was a sizzling six-for-nine from beyond the arc. Emmanuel Tshimanga had seven points and six boards off the bench over 10 minutes. Brooks and Bryce Pope added eight points each.
 
In the second half, Hayden Gray buried a three-pointer as UC San Diego built its largest lead to that point – 18 points – at 57-39 with 16:48 remaining. Cal Poly answered with an 11-2 run to cut the deficit to nine. UC San Diego quelled the momentum briefly but the Mustangs continued to battle and drew within five, 66-61, with still nine minutes to play.
 
The Tritons hit on 17-of-20 free throws in the second half and sank a season-best 24 (on 27 tries) in the win.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Prior to the game, UC San Diego recognized and thanked its senior class of J'Raan Brooks, Bryce Pope, team manager Jonah Simental, and Emmanuel Tshimanga.
• Bryce Pope is fourth on UC San Diego's career scoring list, now with 1,611 career points.
• The win was UC San Diego's first over Cal Poly inside LionTree Arena as Big West members (second meeting).
• The Tritons are 5-2 in March games as members of The Big West.
• UC San Diego has run out the same starting lineup in all 32 games 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 each of its games.

QUOTABLE


UP NEXT
Saturday's game concludes the 2023-24 regular season.

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.