LA JOLLA, Calif. – UC San Diego ran its win streak to five straight with an 80-64 victory over Cal Poly in front of 3,331 Saturday night at LionTree Arena. Five Tritons scored in double figures in the win, led by 17 from sophomore
Alex Chaikin. He knocked down four three-pointers. Freshman
Hudson Mayes scored 15 and grabbed five rebounds. Junior
Leo Beath and grad student
Emanuel Prospere II each scored 12 on Saturday in the home finale.
The win propelled UC San Diego (21-9 overall, 11-7 Big West) into a tie for third place in the conference standings with two games still to play. The Triton defense allowed the Mustangs – who average 82 points per game – to score only 64 on Saturday, their second-lowest output of the season.
Cal Poly's Hamad Mousa led all scorers with 19. The Mustangs (13-17, 9-9) saw their four-game win streak snapped with Saturday's setback.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Both teams were hot out of the gate, playing at a breakneck pace. However, the Triton defense buckled down UC San Diego used a 13-0 run to go up, 22-14, with 7:55 still to play in the first. Two buckets from
Hudson Mayes and five points from
Alex Chaikin – including a three-pointer – helped the Tritons build their lead. A Mayes dunk capped the run.
UC San Diego built an 18-point halftime cushion, 42-24. The Tritons hit 42% from distance while limiting the Mustangs – the top three-point shooting team in The Big West – to just 6-for-21 from deep (29%). Mayes led the way on the scoreboard for UC San Diego with 11. Chaikin and
Jaden Vance chipped in eight apiece. The Tritons were dominant inside, outscoring the Mustangs in the paint, 20 to 6.
In the second half, the Tritons continued to use defensive pressure to limit the Mustangs' potent offense and get buckets on the other end. The Tritons outscored Cal Poly, 40-20, in the paint and scored 21 points off CP turnovers while not allowing the visitors to score a single point off a UC San Diego miscue.
TRITON TIDBITS
- UC San Diego turned the ball over just six times – its fewest in a Big West game this season.
- The Tritons led, 42-24, at halftime. UC San Diego improved 18-1 when leading at the half.
- UC San Diego went 6-1 in the month of February.
- Prior to the game, the Tritons honored grad student Emanuel Prospere II.
- Saturday was UC San Diego's fifth home crowd of better than 3,000 in 2025-26.
QUOTABLE
UP NEXT
The Tritons will head out on the road for their final two regular season games. On Thursday, UC San Diego visits Cal State Fullerton. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m. from Titan Gym with broadcasts on ESPN+ and 97.3 The Fan, 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.
