LA JOLLA, Calif. – UC San Diego overcame an early seven-point deficit to take down visiting Whittier, 100-75, in the season opener Monday night inside LionTree Arena. Triton newcomers
Kayde Dotson and
Rahmir Barno led the way with 21 and 19 points respectively in the win. First-year Triton
Treysen Eaglestaff chipped in 16 points and six rebounds.
Trailing by four points at halftime, UC San Diego (1-0) outscored the Poets 60-31 in the second half. Dotson scored 19 of his points in the second half.
Peyton Guerrero led Whittier with 18 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
It was a sluggish start for UC San Diego and Whittier led for the majority of the first half. A quick layup from Eaglestaff at the16:26 mark gave the Tritons a brief 7-6 advantage. UC San Diego went back in front, 40-39, on a driving layup from
Leo Beath with just over a minute to go in the half. However, the Poets scored the final two buckets of the first half to take a 44-40 lead into halftime.
Barno scored a game-high 15 on 5-of-6 shooting. Guerrero paced Whittier with 13. The Poets sank 48.6% of their field goal tries. Meantime, UC San Diego was just 2-of-14 from beyond the three-point arc over the first 20 minutes.
A driving layup from Barno 63 seconds into the second half gave the Tritons a lead they wouldn't relinquish for the rest of the night. A fast break dunk from
Alex Chaikin capped a 12-0 Tritons run at the 17:29 mark which gave UC San Diego a six-point lead. The Tritons used an 18-2 spurt several minutes later to stretch the lead into double digits for the first time.
UC San Diego shot 54% in the second half while limiting the Poets to just 31% shooting after halftime.
TRITON TIDBITS
- UC San Diego improved to 5-2 in season opening games during the program's Division I era.
- Rahmir Barno, Kayde Dotson, Treysen Eaglestaff, Jake Holmes, Jordan Johnson, and Olavi Suutela all played in their first game as a Triton.
- The Tritons scored 100 points for the first time since their opening night victory in 2025.
- Monday was the first meeting between the Tritons and Poets since UC San Diego competed in Division III in 1998.
- The game was marked as an exhibition for Whittier.
QUOTABLE
UP NEXT
UC San Diego welcomes Pac-12 foe Fresno State to LionTree Arena on Saturday night as part of Homecoming Weekend. Action gets underway at 7 p.m. and limited tickets remain through the
Triton Box Office.
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 84 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 39 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.
