HENDERSON, Nev. – UC San Diego junior Tom Beattie scored a career-high 22 points, but No. 4 CSUN earned an 80-70 win over the fifth-seed Tritons in The Big West quarterfinal Thursday night at Lee's Family Forum. Beattie hit eight field goals and five three-pointers on the night to pace the Tritons, who fell to 23-11.
 
CSUN (20-13) was led by Larry Hughes II. He hit 14-of-25 field goal tries and scored a game high 34 points in the win. The Matadors advance to Friday's semifinal, where they'll face top-seed UC Irvine.
 
Beattie was one of three in double figures for the Tritons Thursday. Freshman Hudson Mayes poured in 17 – 14 after halftime – with five rebounds and four assists. Junior Leo Beath scored 11 with six rebounds.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Hughes, an All-Big West Second Team selection, had 10 quick points for the Matadors, who led 16-13, with 10:58 left in the half. CSUN scored seven early points on the fast break.

UC San Diego hung close, thanks to a couple of three-pointers from Beattie and six early points off the bench from Dimitrije Vukicevic. After Hughes missed a three, Leo Beath grabbed the rebound and another three from Beattie put the Tritons on top, 21-18, at the 9:39 mark. A fourth three from Beattie – a new personal best – extended the UC San Diego advantage.
 
The Tritons got a three-point play from Beath to take their largest lead of the game to that point, 31-25, with 5:33 remaining in the half. UC San Diego outrebounded the Matadors, 22-20, and led 36-32 at halftime. The Tritons registered assists on 10 of their 13 made field goals.
 
Beattie led UC San Diego with 16 points and four three-pointers. Beath added nine and Vukicevic poured in eight. Hughes scored a game-high 17 through the first 20 minutes.
 
The Tritons built a nine-point lead, 43-34, two minutes into the second half. The Matadors began to whittle the UC San Diego lead, and the lead began to see-saw back-and-forth. Northridge got hot late, knocking down six straight shots to take a 68-61 lead with just more than three minutes to play. Alex Chaikin was fouled on a three-point shot, and the sophomore drained all three free throws. However, the Matadors' hot streak extended to nine consecutive makes to end the game. CSUN shot 65.4% after halftime.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• UC San Diego led 36-32 at halftime. The Tritons trailed the Matadors at halftime in both regular season meetings: by nine at home and by 13 in Northridge.
• The loss was just UC San Diego's third when leading at halftime (20-3).
• The Tritons were 9-for-33 from beyond the three-point arc (27.3).
• UC San Diego wore its blue uniforms as the designated visiting team.
• The loss was the Tritons' first-ever at Lee's Family Forum. UC San Diego is 4-1 all-time in this building.

 
QUOTABLE

 
UP NEXT
UC San Diego will wait to learn its NIT fate on Sunday. The Tritons' 23 wins are second most in the program's Division I era.
 
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.