LA JOLLA – The UC San Diego Tritons used a 20-6 run mid-way through the second half to key their 71-58 win over the visiting SF State Gators in a CCAA match-up at RIMAC Arena in La Jolla, Calif.
Bren Haley led the Gators with a career high 20 points. UC San Diego's Adam Klie was one of three Tritons in double digits also with 20 points.
"UC San Diego played very well tonight and shot the ball well, shooting 54% from the field," said SF State head coach
Paul Trevor. "We had too many turnovers at costly times this evening and way too many dry spells offensively."
Haley had 20 points on 7-for-15 shooting from the field including going 4-of-8 from three-point land. He also added four assists and four rebounds for the Gators (6-6, 4-4 CCAA). Senior
Udun Osakue added 14 points and a team high 7 rebounds for SF State, who is now in a four-way tie for sixth place in the conference with Cal State San Bernardino, Cal State Monterey Bay and Cal State L.A.
Besides Klie's 20 points, Drew Dyer added 18 points for the Tritons while Jeff Van Dyke had 12 points off the bench for the victors. Those three were a combined 16-for-22 from the field including connecting on 8 of their 14 attempts from three-point land. With the win, UC San Diego improves to 7-5 overall and 5-3 in the CCAA, which places them in a three-way tie for third place with Chico State and Sonoma State.
UC San Diego built a 18-7 lead mid-way through the second half, but the Gators clawed back and took a 26-25 lead on a trey by
Jon McMurry off an assist from Haley with a little under two minutes left in the half.
The hosts finished the half outscoring SF State 5-2 to take a 30-28 lead into halftime.The Tritons continued their run in the second half scoring the first seven points to take a 35-28 lead in the first three minutes.
Udun Osakue tied the game at 37-37 for the Gators with 13:52 on the clock, but the Tritons outscored their guests 20-6 in the next seven minutes to take a 57-43 lead capped by a trey by Aleks Lipovic.
A three by Haley off an assist from Osakue cut the Triton lead to 61-53 with three minutes to go in regulation, but the Tritons 8-for-12 from the line in the final three minutes including Hunter Walker going four-for-four to give the hosts a 71-58 CCAA victory.
UC San Diego shot 53.7% from the field including 42.9% from three-point territory while forcing 16 turnovers by the Gators.
SF State did out-rebound its hosts 30-27 and shot 44.9% from the field.
The Gators will continue their season long four-game road trip this coming weekend with a pair of conference games. SF State will face Chico State this Friday, January 16 in Chico and Cal State Stanislaus on Saturday, January 17 in Turlock. Cal State Stanislaus is tied for the league lead with Cal Poly Pomona while Chico State is tied for third place with UC San Diego and Sonoma State.
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Gator Athletics has a proud tradition of competitive success within the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The department offers 12 intercollegiate sports programs: Baseball, Men's and Women's Basketball, Men's and Women's Cross Country, Men's and Women's Soccer, Softball, Women's Track & Field, Women's Volleyball and Men's Wrestling.
Gator Athletics places great emphasis on academic performance as well as athletic achievement. The program offers student athletes the opportunity to reach their educational goals, as well pursue meaningful athletic accomplishments. For more information, visit SF State Athletics' website, Twitter and Facebook pages.
