DAVIS, Calif. – UC San Diego freshman Hudson Mayes scored a career-high 19 points and posted his second double-double this month, adding 12 rebounds in an 80-74 win over UC Davis Thursday night at UCU Center. Sophomore guard Alex Chaikin also scored 19 points for UC San Diego, hitting five three-point baskets in ten tries. The Tritons shot 55% in the second half, improving to 15-5 overall and 5-3 in Big West action.
 
Emanuel Prospere II scored 14 points with six rebounds and seven assists in the win. All 14 of his points came in the second half. UC San Diego scored 55 points after halftime to secure the road triumph.
 
Niko Rocak scored 11 and pulled down 11 boards for UC Davis; the Aggies fell to 11-8 overall (4-4 Big West) with the rare home defeat. UC Davis is now 8-3 at home.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
UC San Diego hit four of its first five field goal attempts – including a three from Leo Beath and a driving layup from Chaikin to go out in front 10-4 off the bat. UC Davis went through a stretch of hitting just one of its 11 field goal attempts, but the Aggies hung around as UC San Diego committed six early turnovers.
 
UC Davis hit five straight shots and used a 6-0 run to take its first lead of the night, 27-23, with 3:11 left in the half. The Aggies led 30-25 at the half. UC San Diego committed 11 first half turnovers. Bol Dengdit led the Tritons with 10 points but he – along with Beath, Prospere, and Aidan Burke were all limited with two fouls.
 
Trailing 36-30, UC San Diego reeled off an 8-0 run to go back in front, 38-36, with 14:22 still to play. It was back-and-forth from there with seven ties and seven lead changes. Mayes continued his strong play with a fast break layup to level the score at 57 with just over five minutes remaining. Four straight points from Mayes put UC San Diego on top, 63-59.
 
Leading by one, Chaikin buried his fifth three-pointer of the night to give UC San Diego a 66-62 advantage and force an Aggies timeout with 3:00 left in the game.
 
The Tritons hit 81% of their second half free throw tries (13-16) to earn the win.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• The Division I series between these two programs is now tied, 5-5.
• Thursday marked UC San Diego's final visit to UCU Center in Davis as conference foes. The Aggies will move to the Mountain West next season.
• Tritons are now 10-2 in games played away from La Jolla.
• UC San Diego used the same starting five for the third straight game: Prospere, Chaikin, Beattie, Beath, and Dengdit.

 
QUOTABLE

 
UP NEXT
UC San Diego returns to LionTree Arena to host UC Irvine Saturday night in a pivotal Big West showdown. The first 3,000 fans will receive a King Triton championship bobblehead. Tickets are almost gone but can be purchased through the Triton Box Office. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and KSDT, with a link to 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.