LA JOLLA, Calif. - The UC San Diego men’s basketball team begins its home and California Collegiate Athletic Association schedules this weekend as Cal State Stanislaus and Chico State invade RIMAC Arena for games on Friday and Saturday nights, respectively. Both contests are slated for 7:30 p.m. tip-offs and will be immediately preceded by the UCSD women’s basketball games against the same opponents.
First year head coach Chris Carlson and his squad enter the games this weekend in search of their first regular season win of the year. The Tritons are currently 0-2 on the season after suffering road losses to San Diego State and Grand Canyon University on back-to-back Saturday nights. The Tritons do have one win already under their belt this season, but it came during the exhibition slate, a 67-61 win over Division I UC Riverside back on November 2nd.
Junior Henry Patterson and sophomore Jordan Lawley lead the team in scoring thus far this season with their 12.5 and 12.0 points per game, respectively. Patterson alson leads the team with his 6.0 boards per game while senior Clint Allard is averaging 9.5 points, 5.0 boards and 6.0 assists each night this season.
UCSD and Cal State Stanislaus have met 23 previous times on the hardwood with the Warriors holding a 13-10 advantage in the all-time series. The Tritons, however, have won six of the last seven meetings, including both last season. Among the two wins last year was a thrilling 116-103 quadruple overtime marathon that saw UCSD’s Kelvin Kim score a career-high 23 points in 55 minutes of play.
The Warriors enter the week with a 1-3 overall record that includes a 3-point overtime loss to Saint Martin’s and a 1-point defeat at the hands to Seattle University. The team’s lone victory this year was an 81-61 triumph over Dominican. Calvin Westbrook leads four CSUS players in double figure scoring with his 15.5 points per night while Rick Cardoso ranks fourth in points per night with 13.0 while his 6.8 rebounds each game leads the team.
Saturday’s opponent, Chico State, enters the weekend with a 2-2 overall record. The Wildcats defeated Menlo College and Hawaii Pacific over the weekend at home. Darroll Phillips leads the way offensively with his 21.5 points per game while Frank Igbekoyi is scoring 9.3 points per game while grabbing a team-leading 5.3 boards each night.
The Tritons and Wildcats have played 16 previous times with Chico State holding a narrow 9-7 advantage in the all-time series. The two teams each won on the other’s home court last year after UCSD took both meetings during the 2005-06 campaign.
Following this weekend’s CCAA contests, the Tritons will host Alaska-Fairbanks on Thursday night, December 6th. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. inside RIMAC Arena.
Courtesy: Jimmy Gekas/Sideline Studios