Game No. 22
UC San Diego Tritons (6-14, 5-12) @ San Francisco State Gators (15-11, 8-10)
Friday, February 19, 2010
SFSU Gymnasium (2,000) • 7:30 pm

Game No. 23
UC San Diego Tritons (6-14, 5-12) @ Cal State Monterey Bay Otters (7-16, 5-13)
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Otter Sports Complex (822) • 7:30 pm

What's On Tap
Winners of two of their last three, the UC San Diego men's basketball team returns to RIMAC Arena to host Cal State East Bay in the first of three games this week. The Tritons will entertain the Pioneers on Tuesday night at approximately 7:30 p.m., looking to sweep the season series with the conference's newest member. UCSD will then travel to San Francisco State and Cal State Monterey Bay this weekend to take on the Gators and Otters, respectively. The Tritons will face SFSU on Friday and CSUMB on Saturday, with both games slated to tip at 7:30 p.m., as well. Following the busy week, UCSD will come home to host Sonoma State and Humboldt State Feb. 24 and 26 during the final week of the regular season.

For the Record
UCSD enters Tuesday's matchup with Cal State East Bay with an overall record of 6-14 and a 5-12 mark in California Collegiate Athletic Association play after going 1-1 against Cal State Stanislaus and Chico State last week. The Tritons got after it defensively in a 56-48 victory over the Warriors on Friday night, but came up short following a poor second half in a 58-42 defeat at the hands of the Wildcats on Saturday. After losing five in a row from Jan. 21 through Feb. 4, head coach Chris Carlson's squad has now won two of its last three and currently sits in 10th place in the conference standings (one game behind eighth place Sonoma State in the loss column). UCSD is just 1.5 games out of the final CCAA Tournament spot with five regular season games remaining. Three of those will be contested at RIMAC Arena, where the Tritons are 3-5 in 2009-10.

Defense Shuts Down Stanislaus In Much-Needed Road Win
The Tritons were outstanding on the defensive end on Friday, limiting host Cal State Stanislaus to just 48 points on 29.8% (17-57) shooting. The Warriors made just eight field goals and finished with 19 points in the opening period as UCSD built a lead it would never relinquish. The Stanislaus starters finished with a total of 10 points in the game, as the Triton defense held the Warriors top five to a combined 4-of-20 from the field. The Warriors' final point total and field goal percentage were both season-lows for a UCSD opponent in 2009-10, eclipsing previous marks of 49 points and 31% shooting that came in the Tritons' 64-49 home win over San Diego Christian College on Dec. 22. UCSD shot 45.5% (20-44) for the game, including 50% (12-24) in the second half to register its second road victory of the season.

Offensive Efficiency Key Down the Stretch
For UCSD to make a run at the CCAA Tournament, the Tritons are going to have to be efficient on the offensive end down the stretch. In UCSD's six wins this season, the team has shot 45% or better in five of them, with four performances of 47% or higher. It's been a different story in the team's 14 losses, as the Tritons have shot better than 45% just twice this season. In fact, UCSD has finished below 40% shooting in eight of those defeats, including a 36% (16-45) mark in the 58-42 setback at Chico State on Saturday. While it may seem pretty obvious, UCSD needs to shoot the ball well to be successful and 45% appears to be the barometer.

Cal State East Bay At A Glance
Cal State East Bay begins the week with an overall record of 5-17 and a 2-15 conference mark following road losses to Chico State and Cal State Stanislaus last week. The Pioneers lost a 71-67 decision to the Wildcats on Friday, before falling by a 67-60 margin to the Warriors on Saturday. East Bay, which is in its first year as a member of the CCAA, has lost seven straight since defeating Cal State Monterey Bay and Sonoma State in back-to-back games in late January. The Pioneers have the league's worst-ranked offense, averaging just over 60 points per game, while the defense has allowed 69.6, a figure that ranks 10th. Freshman guard Mark Samuels is CSUEB's leading scorer at 9.0 points per game, while also averaging 2.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists. Senior forward Jawaan Rubin is second on the team in scoring, averaging 6.1 points, while shooting 45% from the field and hauling in 3.4 boards. Rookie center Jacob Noisat is the Pioneer's leading rebounder at 4.1 per game. UCSD has split four previous meetings with Cal State East Bay (formerly known as Cal State Hayward), but did take the first meeting of the year on Dec. 15. Tyler Acevedo led three Tritons in double figures with 16 points, as UCSD recorded a 70-50 victory over the Pioneers in Hayward.

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 21.0 points per game. He has been on an absolute tear the last two months, scoring in double figures in 17 consecutive games and reaching the 20-point mark 12 times during that span. The Lodi native is also averaging a career-best 5.7 rebounds and dishing out a team-high 2.8 assists, while shooting 45% from the field. Lawley averaged 20.5 points and 6.0 rebounds against Cal State Stanislaus and Chico State last week, helping the Tritons go 1-1 on a crucial road trip. He was brilliant in the 56-48 win over the Warriors on Friday, finishing with 24 points and 10 boards for his third double-double of the season. He connected on 7-of-12 shots from the field, including 2-of-5 from downtown, playing all 40 minutes in the game. Lawley did his part in the loss to the Wildcats on Saturday as well, finishing with a game-high 17 on 6-of-16 shooting. For the week, he shot better than 46% from the field and sank 3-of-7 from beyond the arc, 43%.

Front and Center
Christian Hatch was one of the few Tritons to shoot the ball well in the loss at Chico State on Saturday, converting three of his attempts from the floor for 10 points. He also tallied four rebounds in 26 minutes. The Henderson, Nev. native has scored 10 points or more five times in 2009-10, with three coming in the last five games. He was tremendous in the Tritons' win over Cal State L.A. on Feb. 6, scoring a career-high 23 points and hauling down 11 boards for his third career double-double. Hatch has been in the starting lineup for all 20 games this season and enters Tuesday's matchup with Cal State East Bay averaging 7.7 points and 5.1 rebounds. He ranks third on the team in scoring and second in rebounding, behind Casey Ryan's 7.0.

Put Me In Coach
Sophomore guard Bryce Alvari was very productive in 12 minutes off the bench against Cal State Stanislaus last week, finishing with eight points on 3-of-4 shooting to help UCSD hang on for the eight-point win. He scored back-to-back baskets in the waning moments after the Warriors had cut the Triton lead to just four (48-44) with less than three minutes to play. The eight points was a new career-best for Alvari, who had a previous high of just four points scored in a game against Academy of Art University on Dec. 20, 2008. For the season, he is averaging 1.2 points and 0.6 rebounds in 6.6 minutes per game.

Tritons Lead CCAA In Defending the Three
UCSD ranks first in the conference in terms of three-point field goal percentage defense, limiting its opponents to just 29% shooting from beyond the arc. Triton opponents have made just 102 triples in 20 games this season, which is the lowest total of any team in the CCAA (Chico State is second, having allowed 104). Cal State Stanislaus was just 3-for-20 from beyond the arc in UCSD's 56-48 win on Saturday, 15%, while Chico State converted 6-of-16 shots from downtown, 38%. UCSD hasn't been too shabby when it comes to shooting the three either, hitting 34% (104-of-306) of its attempts, a figure that ranks fourth in the conference behind Humboldt State (.376), Sonoma State (.351), and Cal State Dominguez Hills (.346).