Game No. 18
UC San Diego Tritons (4-12, 3-10) vs. Cal State L.A. Golden Eagles (11-8, 7-7)
Saturday, February 6, 2010
RIMAC Arena (5,000) • 7:30 pm

The Week Ahead
After falling to two of the CCAA's top three teams over the weekend, the UC San Diego men's basketball team will take on Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State L.A. this week to wrap up its four-game homestand. The Tritons will look to snap a four-game losing streak when they square off with the upstart Toros on Thursday, before trying to cage the Golden Eagles on Saturday. Both contests will tipoff at approximately 7:30 p.m. at UCSD's RIMAC Arena. Following this week's matchups, the Tritons will travel to Cal State Stanislaus and Chico State Feb. 12-13, before returning home to face Cal State East Bay on Feb. 16.
 
For The Record
UCSD enters Thursday's contest with CSUDH with an overall record of 4-12 and a 3-10 mark in the California Collegiate Athletic Association following losses to Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State San Bernardino last week. The Tritons let a five-point halftime lead slip away in a 59-49 loss to the Broncos on Thursday and then dropped a 76-67 decision to the Coyotes on Saturday after the visitors scored the game's final eight points. UCSD has lost four straight since defeating San Francisco State in double overtime on Jan. 16 and finished the month of January with a mark of 2-8. The Tritons, who currently sit in 11th place the conference standings, are 3-4 at RIMAC Arena this season.

UCSD Gives CSUSB All It Can Handle
The Tritons had one of their best performances of the year on Saturday, battling league-leading Cal State San Bernardino down to the wire. UCSD trailed by as many as 11 points early in the second half, but rallied all the way back to within 68-67 on a basket by Christian Hatch with 1:36 remaining. The Coyotes would score four points on their next possession, however, and escape with the nine-point victory. Jordan Lawley was outstanding for the Tritons, scoring 24 of his game-high 32 points in the second half and registering 22 of UCSD's first 25 points in the period. The Tritons shot just under 45% and held a 34-25 rebounding advantage, but had 18 turnovers leading to 18 CSUSB points.

Cal State Dominguez Hills At A Glance
Cal State Dominguez Hills comes to town with an overall record of 9-10 and a 9-5 mark in the CCAA after splitting a pair of home games last week. The Toros lost a 69-65 decision to Humboldt State on Friday, but rebounded to take down Sonoma State, 65-56, the next night. Dominguez has won nine of its last 12 after starting the season 0-7 and ranks fourth in the conference defensively, allowing just over 61 points per game. The Toro offense ranks 10th, averaging 61.1. Junior guard Tim McLaurin is the team's leading scorer at 11.1 points per game, while shooting better than 38% from behind the three-point line. Junior forward Michael Cox is not far behind, averaging 10.2 points and a team-high 4.8 rebounds. UCSD holds a 16-13 advantage in the all-time series with CSUDH, but the Toros took the first meeting of the year, 67-55, on Jan. 3 in Carson. Jordan Lawley scored 17 points and dished out four assists in a losing effort for the Tritons.

Cal State L.A. At A Glance
Cal State L.A. begins the week with an overall record of 11-8 and an even 7-7 mark in the CCAA after losses to Sonoma State (64-60) and Humboldt State (77-74) last week. Losers of three straight and six of eight, CSULA ranks eighth in the conference averaging 63.4 points per game, while the defense ranks third, allowing 60.2. Junior guard Chris Fields leads three players averaging double figures for the Golden Eagles at 13.1 points per game, while also hauling in a team-high 7.0 rebounds. Senior guard Dwayne Jones has been stellar as well, averaging 13.1 points, 3.8 boards, and 2.1 assists. The Tritons have won 11 of 21 meetings with the Golden Eagles, but lost a 62-53 decision when the two teams hooked up earlier this season. Lawley led all scorers with 24 points for UCSD, but it wasn't enough in the Jan. 2 setback in Los Angeles. Cal State L.A. will play at Cal State East Bay on Thursday, before coming to La Jolla on Saturday.

Top Dog
Senior guard Jordan Lawley is having a career year for the Tritons and enters play this week leading the CCAA in scoring at 20.4 points per game. He has been on an absolute tear the last several weeks, scoring in double figures in 13 consecutive games and reaching the 20-point mark nine times during that span. The Lodi native is averaging a career-best 5.6 rebounds and dishing out a team-high 3.1 assists, while shooting just under 43% from the field. Lawley finished with just 11 points in the 10-point loss to Cal Poly Pomona on Thursday, but grabbed a game-high nine rebounds and handed out two assists. He nearly led the Tritons to an upset of first place Cal State San Bernardino on Saturday, scoring a career-high 32 points in an outstanding individual display. He hit 8-of-16 shots from the floor and connected on 3-of-4 attempts from downtown, eclipsing his previous best of 31. Lawley, who also tallied three boards and two assists in the 76-67 loss, scored 24 of UCSD's 36 points in the second half. 

Front and Center
The other player that stepped up in a big way for UCSD on Saturday was sophomore center Christian Hatch. After finishing with just three points and two rebounds in the loss to Cal Poly Pomona on Thursday, Hatch responded with his best performance of the season two nights later, racking up 12 points and a career-high 12 boards for his second double-double as a Triton. He finished 4-of-7 from the field and a perfect 4-for-4 at the free throw line en route to his third double digit scoring effort of 2009-10. Hatch has been in the starting lineup for all 16 games this season and enters competition this week averaging 7.3 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. The Henderson, Nev. native ranks third on the team in scoring and second in rebounding. 

Less Than Jake
Jake Tarabilda had his best game as a Triton against Cal Poly Pomona last week, finishing with a season-high 15 points against the top defense in the CCAA. He connected on 6-of-9 shots from the field, including 3-of-5 from the three-point line, and also finished with four assists and two rebounds in 31 minutes. His previous high mark was eight points, scored on three different occasions this season. Tarabilda scored six points against Cal State San Bernardino on Saturday, draining both of his attempts from beyond the arc. For the season, the Murrieta native is averaging 4.9 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game. 

Three's Company
The Tritons have been shooting the ball well from behind the three-point arc recently, converting better than 40% (47-116) of their attempts over the last seven games. UCSD has made at least five threes in 10 straight outings, finishing with seven or more three times during that span. Last week, head coach Chris Carlson's squad hit 7-of-18 threes, 39%, against Cal Poly Pomona and sank 6-of-14, 43%, against Cal State San Bernardino. The Tritons currently rank third in the CCAA at 35% for the season behind Humboldt State and Cal State Dominguez Hills. UCSD leads the league in three-point field goal percentage defense at just under 29%. Tyler Acevedo, the Tritons' top three-point threat, ranks fourth in the conference with 30 triples made.