HONOLULU – Four Tritons scored in double figures and UC San Diego erased a 13-point first half deficit on the way to a 74-63 victory over Hawai'i inside SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center on Thursday night. The Tritons reach the halfway mark of conference play at 18-4 overall and 8-2 in The Big West – one game out of first place. The win was UC San Diego's first-ever over the Rainbow Warriors on O'ahu and marked the Tritons' largest-ever margin of victory over UH.
Tyler McGhie led all scorers with 24, with
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones adding 16 points and nine rebounds in his return to the Aloha State.
Hayden Gray scored 13 and
Nordin Kapic added 11 in the road win – UC San Diego's seventh of the season.
Hawai'i had three players finish with 11 on the night. After winning four of five, the Rainbow Warriors (12-9, 4-6) have dropped three straight.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Both teams came out hot early, connecting on four of their first six field goal attempts. UC San Diego led 5-0 and then 9-5 before the Rainbow Warriors responded with an 8-0 run – forcing four Triton turnovers – to take a 13-9 lead with 12:33 on the clock.
Hawai'i built its largest lead of the half, 29-16, when Kody Williams hit a three-pointer at the 5:56 mark. UC San Diego responded with back-to-back triples of their own from
Chris Howell and
Tyler McGhie to draw within seven, 29-22, with 5:10 left on the clock.
McGhie hit a field goal with 40 seconds left on the clock, and UC San Diego went into the half down one, 34-33. The Tritons shot 50% in the first half (11-22) but the Rainbow Warriors drained seven threes in nine attempts to lead at the half. McGhie led the Tritons with nine points and Howell had five first half steals.
Hawai'i led 47-38 before the Tritons answered with a 9-0 run keyed by a
Hayden Gray three and a Gray dunk to tie the score with just under 12 minutes to play. After UH tied the score, McGhie converted a driving layup, Gray stole the inbounds and McGhie buried a three in front of the Triton bench to put the visitors on top, 55-50. The Tritons never trailed from that point.
Nordin Kapic got in on the act with a three from the wing, and a Tait-Jones layup extended the Tritons' run to 22-3 – and the team's lead to 60-50.
QUOTABLE
"I'm really proud of our performance tonight, I thought this was one of our most resilient wins of the season," said UC San Diego head coach
Eric Olen. "We overcame a really great shooting performance from Hawai'i in the first half. Our defense did a great job and kept us right there until we were able to figure out some things offensively. Then we had that big explosive run and were able to take control of the game."
TRITON TIDBITS
- The 13-point deficit erased by UC San Diego is the largest deficit the Tritons have overcome at any point this season.
- UC San Diego is now 10-2 in road/neutral games this season.
- The Tritons are now 4-4 this season when trailing at halftime.
- UC San Diego improved to 9-0 when outrebounding the opposition. The Tritons held a slim 28-27 advantage on the glass.
- The Tritons forced 17 turnovers while committing ten. UC San Diego has won the turnover battle in 21 of its 22 games this season.
- Chris Howell matched his career high with six steals.
UP NEXT
UC San Diego will enjoy its final bye of the regular season on Saturday before the second half of The Big West slate begins Thursday at home vs. UC Riverside. The game tips at 7 and will air on ESPN+ and KSDT radio, with live stats on UCSDTritons.com. Tickets can be purchased through
Triton Box Office.
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.
