KISSIMMEE, Fla. – UC San Diego knocked down a season-best 16 three-pointers and got 16 points from junior
Leo Beath as the Tritons defeated Towson, 87-73, to win the Adventure Bracket at the Terry's Chocolate ESPN Events Invitational at Walt Disney World. Nine different Tritons buried a three-pointer in the win, tying an NCAA Division I record.
With three wins in three days, UC San Diego (7-0) is off to its best-ever Division I start. The Tritons shot 64% from distance and 60.4% overall Wednesday afternoon to claim the tournament title. The win was UC San Diego's 20th consecutive regular season victory dating back to January.
Beath led the way with 16 points and was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.
Aidan Burke added 14 points on 4-of-5 from deep,
Emanuel Prospere II scored 11,
Tom Beattie scored ten with six assists and
Hudson Mayes was 4-for-4 from the field, contributing ten points. Wednesday was UC San Diego's second game of the season with five players scoring 10 or more points.
Tyler Tejada paced Towson (5-3) with a game-high 27 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Burke got the scoring started with a three-pointer…and another.
Bol Dengdit drained a three as well, giving UC San Diego an early 9-1 lead. Mayes scored in the paint off a feed from Burke and the Tritons led 11-3 at the first media timeout. UC San Diego hit four of its first seven field goal tries – including three-of-four from deep.
The Tritons kept it rolling with a three from
Alex Chaikin and a driving layup from Prospere forced a Towson timeout with UC San Diego up 20-7 thanks to a 9-0 run. Beattie and Mayes knocked down long balls and Towson called its third timeout of the half as UC San Diego went up 40-14 with 5:02 left.
The Tritons were 11-for-18 from deep (61%) as UC San Diego took a 50-31 lead into halftime. Burke led the way with 14 for the Tritons, who shot 63% overall. UC San Diego shared the ball extremely well, assisting on 13 of their 17 first half field goals.
Towson tried to make a game of it after halftime, drawing within eight with 10:19 to play, but the Tritons continued their success from beyond the arc and never relinquished the lead.
Dengdit chipped in nine and
Trap Johnson scored eight in the UC San Diego win.
TRITON TIDBITS
- The Tritons won an MTE for the second straight year in Central Florida, capturing last season's Boardwalk Battle crown in Daytona Beach.
- UC San Diego has now won 34 consecutive games when leading at halftime going back to 2024. The Tritons are 6-0 this season when leading at the break.
- Since 2022, UC San Diego has won eight consecutive games in the Eastern Time Zone – including six straight in Central Florida.
- The UC San Diego starting lineup has been Emanuel Prospere II, Aidan Burke, Tom Beattie, Leo Beath and Bol Dengdit for each game this season.
- The Tritons were just 7-of-15 from the free throw line (46.7%).
- UC San Diego wore its white uniforms as the designated home team.
QUOTABLE
"I'm really proud of the guys and their effort the last three days," said UC San Diego head coach
Clint Allard '08. "We're a tough team to prepare for on short rest, and we responded well to being in that situation ourselves. We know we've got a lot of guys who can shoot and we showed that today. Winning this championship is a testament to their belief in the program. We're not a finished product and have plenty of room to get better, but this one feels great."
UP NEXT
UC San Diego continues its 34-day stretch away from home when the Tritons travel to Nevada Tuesday night. Game time is set for 7 p.m. from Reno with links to a live broadcast and 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 has begun a new era as a member of The Big West in NCAA Division I. The 24-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 garnered 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 NCAA Division I or II. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDtritons.com or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.
