LA JOLLA, Calif. – UC San Diego used another strong second half to take down Fresno State, 81-65, in front of a Homecoming crowd of 3,669 at LionTree Arena Saturday night. Senior
Leo Beath scored 24 and
Treysen Eaglestaff added 14 points and eight rebounds for the Tritons, who shot 65% overall and 55% from beyond the three-point arc in the second half.
Trailing by four points at halftime for the second consecutive game, UC San Diego (2-0) outscored the Bulldogs 49-29, after halftime.
Dragos Lungu and Bradley Henige each scored 18 for Fresno State, with Henige pulling down a game-high 13 rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
UC San Diego got off to a roaring start, jumping out to a 7-0 lead just 1:38 into the game. A fast break
Alex Chaikin dunk and a pull-up three-pointer from Eaglestaff got the home team out in front quickly to the delight of the raucous crowd. Fresno State settled in, and a 9-0 run from the Bulldogs gave the visitors a 20-17 lead with 9:07 left in the half.
Neither team led by more than seven points, and a Fresno State layup from Brian Amuneke gave the Bulldogs a 36-32 advantage at halftime. Both teams scored 20 points in the paint and shot 38% overall. Fresno State had a slim 25-21 edge on the glass over the first 20 minutes. Eaglestaff led UC San Diego in the scoring column with ten. Dragos Lungu scored ten for Fresno State.
Fresno State matched its largest lead of seven thanks to a three-point play 75 second into the second half. UC San Diego responded with a 16-3 run – including 12 straight points – forcing a Fresno State timeout with 11 minutes to play and the Tritons leading, 55-47. Beath scored six in that stretch for UC San Diego.
The Tritons ran off five additional unanswered points to take their largest lead of the night to that point, 62-47, with 8:39 left.
TRITON TIDBITS
- UC San Diego has trailed by four at halftime in each of its two games this season.
- Since moving to NCAA Division I, the Tritons are now 3-2 against Pac-12 foes.
- Saturday was the second Division I meeting between the programs. The Tritons were five-point winners last season in Fresno.
- Senior Tom Beattie played in his first game of the season for the Tritons, logging nine points over 13 minutes in the win.
- The Tritons improved to 39-9 at LionTree Arena over the last three-plus seasons.
QUOTABLE
UP NEXT
UC San Diego hits the road for the first time this season when the Tritons travel to Logan, Utah to face Utah State on Nov. 13. The game will be nationally televised on The CW with radio coverage on 97.3 The Fan in San Diego. Tipoff is scheduled for just after 7 p.m. PST with radio coverage getting underway at 6:30 in San Diego.
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.
