The Schedule
Game No. 13
UC San Diego Tritons (4-8, 3-6) at Humboldt State Lumberjacks (10-5, 7-3)
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Lumberjack Gym (2,000) • 7:30 pm

Game No. 14
UC San Diego Tritons (4-8, 3-6) at Sonoma State Seawolves (4-11, 3-7)
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Seawolf Gymnasium (1,800) • 7:30 pm

What's On Tap
On the heels of a thrilling double overtime victory over San Francisco State on Saturday, the UC San Diego men's basketball team will hit the road this week, looking to pick up a pair of victories in Northern California. The Tritons will travel to Humboldt State for a matchup with the Lumberjacks on Thursday, before squaring off with Sonoma State in Rohnert Park on Saturday. Both contests are scheduled to tipoff at approximately 7:30 p.m. Following this weekend's games with the Lumberjacks and Seawolves, UCSD will come home for four straight from Jan. 28-Feb. 6.

For the Record
UCSD begins play this week with an overall record of 4-8 and a 3-6 mark in the CCAA after going 1-1 against Cal State Monterey Bay and San Francisco State last week. The Tritons' comeback bid fell short in a 66-62 loss to the Lumberjacks on Thursday, but they responded with an impressive 91-86 double overtime victory over the Gators two nights later. After dropping three straight from Jan. 2-7, head coach Chris Carlson's squad has rebounded to win two of its last three heading into Thursday's matchup with second place Humboldt State. The Tritons, who went 2-2 on their four-game homestand over the last two weeks, will look to improve upon their 1-5 road record this weekend.  

UCSD Downs SFSU In Thrilling Fashion
The Tritons found themselves in a 76-70 hole with 1:03 remaining in overtime on Saturday, but rallied to tie the game, force a second OT period, and ultimately hand San Francisco State a 91-86 defeat. After the Gators had comeback from a four-point deficit in the waning minutes of regulation, it was UCSD's turn to escape defeat, as Jordan Lawley hit his second three-pointer of the game with 51 seconds on the clock and Casey Ryan followed with a long three of his own as time expired to knot the game at 76 after one overtime. The Tritons took over from there, scoring the first four points of the second overtime and holding off the visitors for the improbable five-point victory.

Humboldt State At A Glance
Humboldt State enters Thursday's matchup with an overall record of 10-5 and a 7-3 mark in the CCAA following victories over Chico State and Cal State Stanislaus at home last week. The Lumberjacks defeated the Wildcats 72-60 on Thursday, before taking care of the Warriors on Saturday, 64-69. Humboldt, which has won seven of nine games overall, ranks second in the CCAA averaging 72.8 points per game, while the defense has also been solid, allowing just 61.4 on the other end, a figure that ranks fourth. Junior forward Brian Morris is the team's leading scorer and rebounder, averaging 15.4 points and 6.3 boards, respectively. Senior guard Zac Tiedeman is having another productive year, averaging 10.3 points and 4.1 assists, while shooting better than 44% from the three-point arc. Humboldt State holds a 7-3 advantage in the all-time series, but the Tritons won two out of three with the Lumberjacks in 2008-09. After splitting two meetings during the regular season, UCSD defeated Humboldt 79-67 at RIMAC Arena in the first round of the CCAA Tournament.

Sonoma State At A Glance
Sonoma State enters its home matchup with Cal State East Bay on Thursday with an overall record of 4-11 and a 3-7 mark in the CCAA after defeating Chico State 77-58 on Saturday. The Seawolves had lost six straight prior to the victory over the Wildcats and are just 2-5 on their home floor. The SSU offense currently ranks seventh in the conference, averaging 65.9 points per game, while the defense has struggled, allowing a league-worst 74.3. Sophomore guard Steven Pratt leads the Seawolves in scoring at 12.3 points per game, while dishing out a team-high 3.2 assists per game. Senior forward Chad Chambers is the team's leading rebounder at 5.1 boards per game to go with 6.8 points. UCSD trails the all-time series with Sonoma State 14-9, but won both matchups a year ago. The Tritons defeated the Seawolves 57-52 on Dec. 6, before posting a narrow 60-57 win in Rohnert Park in the rematch on Jan. 30.

Law Man
Senior guard Jordan Lawley is having a career year for the Tritons and enters play this week leading the CCAA in scoring at 18.8 points per game. He has been on absolute tear lately, scoring in double figures in nine consecutive games and reaching the 20-point mark in five of the last seven. He is averaging a career-best 5.4 rebounds and dishing out a team-high 3.4 assists on the season, while shooting better than 40% from the field. The Lodi, Calif. native was tremendous in two games last week, averaging 24.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 2.5 steals. Lawley recorded a second straight double-double in the loss to Cal State Monterey Bay -- finishing with 17 points and 10 rebounds -- and tied his career-high with 31 points against San Francisco State two nights later. He also established a personal best with eight assists and grabbed six boards in the double overtime win over the Gators.

Mr. Big Shot
Casey Ryan was outstanding in the double overtime win over San Francisco State last week, hitting 4-of-6 shots from the field and 3-of-4 at the free throw line en route to a career-best 12 points (He also scored 12 against Colorado State-Pueblo earlier this season). Ryan hit a huge three-pointer with two seconds remaining in the first overtime to tie the game at 76 and force a decisive second OT period and then sank a pair of free throws with 28 seconds left to help put the game away. The Jackson, Calif. native contributed in other areas as well, finishing with seven rebounds and three assists in a career-high 39 minutes. Ryan is now averaging 6.8 points and a team-high 6.4 rebounds on the season.

Front and Center
Sophomore center Christian Hatch also had a big hand in the Tritons' double overtime win on Saturday, scoring a career-high 16 points to help UCSD outlast San Francisco State. He also established a new personal best in field goals made, converting 8-of-9 shots from the field, and finished with four rebounds in 29 minutes of action. The 16-point effort was his highest scoring output since scoring 14 in UCSD's win at Cal State East Bay on Dec. 15. For the season, Hatch is averaging 7.3 points and 5.0 rebounds, while shooting 42% (32-76) from the field. The Henderson, Nev. native is one of three Tritons to start all 12 games in 2009-10.

Offense Continues To Improve
After scoring 81 points in the win over Cal State Stanislaus on Jan. 9, the UCSD offense put on another show on Saturday, erupting for a season-high 91 in the double overtime win over San Francisco State. While the Tritons had an extra 10 minutes of play to reach that mark, they shot better than 47% (28-59) from the field, including 52% in the second half, and connected on 10-of-23 attempts from the three-point line, 43%, which are impressive numbers by any account. Jordan Lawley (31), Christian Hatch (16), Casey Ryan (12), and Tyler Acevedo (10) all scored in double figures, marking the first time UCSD has had four players scored 10 or more in a game this season. As a team, the Tritons are now averaging 62.8 points per game, their highest scoring output at any point this season.

Tritons Picked To Finish Sixth CCAA Coaches Poll
UCSD was selected to finish sixth in the California Collegiate Athletic Association regular season standings, according to the league's preseason coaches poll that was released last month. The Tritons, who finished tied for fourth in the conference last season at 13-7, received 68 points, two behind fifth place Cal State L.A. Cal Poly Pomona was picked to win the 2009-10 CCAA regular season title, receiving six first place votes and a total of 115 points. Humboldt State collected 113 points and five first place votes to finish second, while Cal State San Bernardino was third after garnering 95 points and the remaining first place vote. Cal State Dominguez Hills was picked fourth after receiving 87 points and Cal State L.A. was fifth with 70. Following UCSD was Sonoma State (49), Chico State (48), San Francisco State (44), Cal State Monterey Bay (38), Cal State Stanislaus (31), and Cal State East Bay (13), finishing seventh through 12th, respectively.