SAN MARCOS, Calif. – In front of over 1,000 fans, the Cal State San Marcos men’s basketball team fell 78-66 on Homecoming Night to UC San Diego on Saturday in California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) conference play at The Sports Center.
Slow Second Half Costs CSUSM; Drop to UC San Diego, 78-66
CSUSM held a 36-35 lead into halftime but shot only 28.6 percent from the field (8-of-28) in the second half. The Cougars had no answer defensively to UCSD’s Christian Bayne’s 18 points in the second half including the team’s first 11 points out of halftime. He led the Tritons with 24 points on the night and finished 7-of-12 shooting from the field including a 9-of-10 performance from the charity stripe.
The Cougars drop to 6-2 overall and 1-1 in CCAA play while UCSD improves to 5-3, 2-0 CCAA following the win.
Senior Joe Boyd recorded his fourth double-double of the season as he totaled 15 points and 16 rebounds in 38 minutes on the court. Classmates Ethan Alvano and Josh Spiers recorded 22 and 19 points, respectively. Spiers went 5-of-6 from downtown as CSUSM went only 5-of-14 for the game from the perimeter.
UCSD shot 43.6 percent (24-of-55) as a team including 11-of-30 (36.7 percent) from the outside. Christian Oshita went 6-of-14 shooting and finished with 17 points and eight rebounds. Anthony Ballestero hit a team-high four 3-pointers and record 16 points and three assists in 27 minutes.
The Tritons forced 11 turnovers on nine steals but CSUSM edged UCSD in the rebounding battle, 37-34, including 10 offensive boards.
UCSD’s largest lead of the night was 16 points with 7:41 remaining in the second half.
The Cougars will hit the road for the first time all season after wrapping up an eight game homestand to start the season. CSUSM will play Cal Poly Pomona on Saturday, Dec. 9 at 7:30 p.m. at Kellogg Arena.
