LA JOLLA, Calif. – UC San Diego captured a share of its first-ever Big West regular season men's basketball title with a 70-63 victory over visiting Long Beach State Thursday night in LionTree Arena. Playing in their final regular season home game,
Tyler McGhie and
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones each scored 20 points in lifting UC San Diego (27-4 overall, 17-2 Big West) to the win – the Tritons' 12th straight.
Chris Howell added six assists and five steals without committing a turnover – along with a huge block in the final minutes as UC San Diego wrapped up its home slate with a 13-2 record in LionTree Arena.
Devin Askew scored a game-high 29 for Long Beach State (7-24, 3-16).
HOW IT HAPPENED
In a sluggish first half, the Tritons still found themselves up by ten at halftime. UC San Diego shot just 38% but forced 13 Long Beach turnovers en route to the lead. The Tritons got a buzzer-beating three from McGhie to go into the locker room up double digits.
McGhie led all scorers with eleven in the first half, knocking down three three-pointers. Tait-Jones chipped in eight, and
Chris Howell added three assists and three steals.
Keyed by two more threes from McGhie, the Tritons used a 10-0 run in the second half to go up 45-27, with 15:48 left – their largest lead of the night.
Long Beach battled back with an 11-1 run. A layup and three-pointer from Askew cut the deficit to single digits, 63-57, with 4:40 left.
UC San Diego got the big block from Howell and some clutch free throws from McGhie to hold on down the stretch.
QUOTABLE
TRITON TIDBITS
- The men's basketball program is the second UC San Diego team to capture a Big West regular season title, joining the 2023 baseball team.
- The Tritons improved to 23-0 when leading at halftime.
- Tyler McGhie has hit 106 three-pointers this season. The program's single season record is 111 (Tyrell Roberts, 2019-20).
- The Tritons forced 20 turnovers while committing just six. UC San Diego has won the turnover battle in 30 of its 31 games this season, and the Tritons continue to lead Division I in turnover margin.
- Prior to the game, UC San Diego honored its graduating class of Hayden Gray, McGhie, Maximo Milovich, and Tait-Jones.
UP NEXT
UC San Diego concludes the regular season Saturday night at UC Davis in a nationally televised contest on ESPN2. The game tips at 8 p.m. and will also air on KSDT radio 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 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.
