FULLERTON, Calif. – UC San Diego had its five-game win streak snapped Thursday with a 75-71 loss to host Cal State Fullerton inside Titan Gym. The Titans rallied from down 12 in the second half to take the lead with just 21 seconds to play. Fullerton's Josh Ward scored 16 points after halftime as the Titans (16-15) moved into a tie with UC San Diego in The Big West standings. Both teams are 11-8 in conference play, tied with UC Santa Barbara and UC Davis with one game remaining. 
 
Five Tritons scored in double figures, led by a 13-point, eight rebound effort from freshman Hudson Mayes.  Leo Beath, Bol Dengdit, and Emanuel Prospere II all scored 12 for the Tritons, with freshman Jaden Vance chipping in ten. The Tritons outscored the hosts in the paint, 44-34. Despite leading for more than 32 minutes Thursday, UC San Diego fell to 21-10 overall.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Neither squad shot the ball great as the game began, but it was a breakneck pace, nevertheless. Fullerton hit just three of its first nine shots and UC San Diego was 3-for-8 – and the game was tied at 8-8 at the 14:41 mark. On the other side of the break, the Tritons used a 9-0 run to go in front, 17-9. Layups from Beath and Prospere, along with a fastbreak bucket from Alex Chaikin set the tone.
 
The Tritons continued to find success from beyond the three-point arc, with Dengdit hitting a pair and Mayes draining one as well. UC San Diego led, 29-18, with 6:56 left in the half. The Tritons to that point also had a 16-11 rebound advantage.
 
UC San Diego scored 26 points in the paint and shot 53% to lead 39-29 at the break. Dengdit led the way with 10 while Mayes added nine points. Tom Beattie chipped in six assists and four rebounds, as the Tritons held a 24-17 advantage on the glass.
 
In the second half, a three-pointer from Fullerton's Ward cut UC San Diego's lead to six, 56-50. But Beattie immediately fed Beath whose three built the advantage back to nine with 9:14 remaining.
 
The Titans battled back, using a 7-0 spurt – featuring five straight from Bryce Cofield – to draw within a point, 64-63, with 3:43 left. Cal State Fullerton tied the score with a three from Ward with 1:58 left. UC San Diego immediately answered with a Beath three on the other end, giving the Tritons a 69-66 lead with 100 seconds to play.
 
With the score once again level, a driving layup from Prospere gave the visitors a two-point advantage with less than a minute to play. However, on the other end, a pair of Ward free throws gave Cal State Fullerton its first lead, 73-71, since the 14:41 mark of the first half.
 
Down two with 18.7 seconds left, the Tritons called timeout to set up their final possession. However, Ward stole the inbound and layed it in to seal the comeback win.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Tom Beattie set a new career high with nine assists.
• The Tritons lost for just the second time this season when leading at halftime (now 18-2).
• UC San Diego shot 50% for the game (30-60).
• The Tritons attempted a season-low three free throw tries, making all three.
• Fullerton hit nine of its final 10 field goal attempts, shooting 58% after halftime.
• UC San Diego has won seven of 11 all-time meetings between these programs – with each team winning twice in Fullerton.

QUOTABLE
"Our offense didn't help our defense late in the game. We started turning the ball over or taking bad shots, and [Fullerton] capitalized on advantage situations and made some big shots to beat us," said UC San Diego head coach Clint Allard '08. "It's the time of the season where we've got to learn and get better. We'll make improvements and get ready for another tough opponent on Saturday."
 
UP NEXT
UC San Diego wraps up its 2025-26 regular season on Saturday evening at UC Santa Barbara. Both teams enter the contest with identical 11-8 records in Big West action. Game time is scheduled for 6 p.m. from the UCSB Events Center with live broadcasts on ESPN+ and 97.3 The Fan, and 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.