HENDERSON, Nev. – Triton senior point guard
Hayden Gray scored a career high 22 on a personal best six made three pointers (in seven tries) as top seed UC San Diego downed second seed UC Irvine, 75-61, in the 2025 Big West Championship Saturday night at Lee's Family Forum. In their first year of Division I postseason eligibility, the Tritons are conference champions and will represent The Big West next week in NCAA March Madness.
The win was the team's 15th in a row as UC San Diego improved to 30-4 on the season. The 30 wins match the most in a single season program history.
UC Irvine (28-6) will now hope for an at-large selection to the NCAA Tournament.
HOW IT HAPPENED
UC San Diego ran out 10-4 thanks to early three-pointers from
Hayden Gray and
Nordin Kapic. The Anteaters tied the score at 12-12 on a pull-up three-pointer from Justin Hohn and took the lead for the first time on a Hohn three with 10:43 on the clock. The Anteaters were on an 11-1 run before an
Aidan Burke three from the top of the key cut the Tritons' deficit to four.
UC Irvine was up nine before Gray knocked down his second three of the half. On the next possession, Gray's driving layup got UC San Diego back within four. UC San Diego clamped down on the defensive end, limiting the Anteaters to just one field goal in their last nine tries of the half.
UC Irvine led 33-31 at the break. Gray led all scorers with four three-pointers and 14 points. The Tritons hit six threes and shot 43% for the half, while limiting UCI to 38% from the floor. UC San Diego had nine assists on 12 made field goals.
A driving baseline layup from McGhie put UC San Diego on top, 37-36, with 17:25 left. Kapic drained his second three of the night and a layup from
Justin Rochelin gave UC San Diego its largest lead of the game, 43-36, with 15:04 left. The Tritons were suddenly on a 10-0 run.
Rochelin had a dunk and a reverse layup as UC San Diego maintained a six-point edge with 12 minutes to play. Burke's second three-point field goal stretched the lead and ignited the UC San Diego crowd.
Gray had a clutch driving layup to establish a new personal scoring high. He hit 8-of-10 field goal tries.
Chris Howell had the exclamation point with a slam dunk.
QUOTABLE
TRITON TIDBITS
- The conference tournament title is the program's fifth under head coach Eric Olen (first four were in the Division II CCAA).
- Triton senior Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones was named tournament's Most Valuable Player. Senior Hayden Gray was also selected to the All-Tournament team.
- UC San Diego trailed 33-31 at halftime after being down by one last night. The last time the Tritons were down at half in back-to-back games was Jan. 9-11.
- UC San Diego sank 12 three-pointers in the win – the 20th game this season the Tritons have hit 10 or more threes.
- The Tritons committed 14 turnovers while forcing 12 – just the second time this season UC San Diego has turned the ball over more than its opponent. The Tritons are 2-0 in such games.
UP NEXT
UC San Diego will play in the NCAA Tournament for the first time at the Division I level. The Tritons last qualified for the postseason in 2019-20 (Division II), before that event was canceled due to COVID-19. The 2025 NCAA March Madness selection show will air on CBS on Sunday at 3 p.m. PDT. Fans are invited to watch with the team live inside LionTree Arena Sunday afternoon. Admission is free, and the first 500 fans in attendance will receive a Triton basketball t-shirt.
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 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 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.
