DENVER – Playing in his final collegiate game, Triton senior
Tyler McGhie scored 25 and grabbed a career-high nine rebounds, but a potential game-tying three-pointer hit the back of the rim and fell off, preserving a 68-65 Michigan victory over UC San Diego in the NCAA South Region First Round at Ball Arena Thursday night in front of a sellout crowd of 19,303. The win propels the 14th-ranked Wolverines into the Second Round on Saturday, where they'll face No. 19 Texas A&M.
Nordin Kapic added 15 points and eight rebounds and
Hayden Gray scored ten with three assists. Playing in its first NCAA Tournament at the Division I level, UC San Diego had its nations-best 15-game win streak snapped; the Tritons conclude their season at 30-5.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Playing in the biggest arena in program history, UC San Diego missed its first six shots as the Wolverines built a 10-0 advantage. The Tritons got on the board with a McGhie floater in the lane. Trailing 13-4,
Nordin Kapic put back a missed shot. Gray promptly stole the in-bounds and
Justin Rochelin banked it in off the glass, cutting the Michigan lead to 13-8 with 11:53 left in the half. At 6:52,
Chris Howell showed great anticipation with a steal and reverse layup.
Michigan took a 41-27 lead into halftime. Despite having a major size disadvantage, UC San Diego hung tough on the boards, with the Wolverines only holding a slight 22-18 edge on the glass. However, Michigan hit 17-of-32 field goal tries and the Tritons just 11-of-32. McGhie and Michigan's Vlad Goldin each scored 11 to lead the way. The Tritons committed six turnovers while forcing nine.
Michigan's Vlad Golden hit a free throw 49 seconds into the half to give UM a 15-point lead. UC San Diego responded with a 9-0 run over the next 1:45. Kapic hit a layup, McGhie knocked down a couple of free throws, Rochelin hit a layup, and, on the other end, he corralled a rebound. A driving layup from Gray cut the deficit to six and forced a Wolverines timeout.
Back-to-back threes from McGhie and Kapic trimmed the lead to three, 45-42, and the Triton faithful erupted.
Tait-Jones and Howell each drew their fourth foul early in the second, but the Tritons were able to stick within five. Tait-Jones drew a tough fifth foul with 6:57 left.
McGhie drained a step back three to knot the game at 63 with 3:05 to play and the building got loud once again. His jumper with 2:29 to go gave the Tritons their first lead of the night, 65-63.
Michigan's Tre Donaldson answered with a three to put Michigan on top, 66-65. UC San Diego had one final shot at a three-pointer, but it fell off and the Wolverines hung on for the win.
QUOTABLE
TRITON TIDBITS
- McGhie hit three 3-pointers Thursday, finishing the season with 117 – a UC San Diego single season record.
- Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones finished with 670 points and 216 made field goals this season – both program bests at the Division I level.
- Michigan's 14-point halftime advantage was UC San Diego's second-largest halftime deficit of the season.
- The crowd of 19,303 is the largest to witness any sporting event in UC San Diego history.
- UC San Diego also trailed at halftime in each of its two Big West Championship games last week, marking the only time this season the Tritons have trailed at halftime in three straight games.
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.
