LONG BEACH, Calif. – UC San Diego shot a season-best 58% and got back on track with an 80-54 victory over Long Beach State Thursday night at LBSU's Goldmine.
Tyler McGhie scored 26 on 10-of-16 shooting for UC San Diego (15-3 overall, 5-1 Big West) in the win.
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones added 18 – he hit six-of-eight tries – as the Tritons won their sixth road game of the season and claimed the program's second-ever win at Long Beach.
Long Beach State fell to 7-11 (3-3 Big West) with the setback.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Beach scored the game's first four points before UC San Diego settled into its new surroundings and went on a 12-2 run, keyed by seven straight points from
Justin Rochelin. The Tritons led 12-6 seven minutes in.
UC San Diego added another impressive spurt – this one a 14-2 run to go up 29-12 with 5:34 left in the half. McGhie drained a corner three – his second triple of the half.
In all, UC San Diego hit eight consecutive shots to go up 33-15, with four minutes left in the half. UC San Diego led 38-23 at the break thanks to a McGhie floater as time expired. The Tritons outrebounded the Beach, 16-10. McGhie led all scorers with 14, and
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones added 10 with Rochelin scoring nine.
UC San Diego connected on 60% of its shots (15-25), scoring 18 points in the paint. The Tritons converted on ten of their final 12 field goal tries in the first half.
The Tritons continued to shoot the ball well in the second half, connecting on better than 56% of their attempts after halftime. McGhie and Tait-Jones, who combined to outscore LBSU in the first half, added 20 more in the second.
UC San Diego built its largest lead of the night, 74-43, with 3:44 to play on a driving layup from Rochelin. He finished with 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
The Tritons outscored Long Beach in the paint, 32-18.
Hayden Gray, the nation's leader in steals, added four more Thursday night. He also scored eight and added a pair of assists.
QUOTABLE
TRITON TIDBITS
- The game was moved to The Goldmine late Thursday afternoon due to a facility issue at LBSU's primary venue, Walter Pyramid. 1,478 fans packed The Goldmine, which has a listed capacity of 1,800.
- The Tritons are now 12-0 this season when leading at halftime.
- UC San Diego improved to 10-0 when posting a better field goal percentage than its opponent. The Tritons shot 58% while limiting the Beach to 43% Thursday night.
- The Tritons lead The Big West in margin of victory during conference play now at 18.8.
- These two teams have split the regular season series in each of the last two seasons.
UP NEXT
UC San Diego will visit UC Riverside Saturday evening. Game time is scheduled for 5 p.m. from SRC Arena with live broadcasts on ESPN+ and KSDT radio, along 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 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.
