UC San Diego Men's Basketball Wins CCAA Tournament Title with 78-63 Win Over San Francisco State
?Courtesy – Scott Flanders, UCSD Communications | Photo courtesy – Greg Siller
SAN MARCOS – Backed by 15 three-pointers, the University of California San Diego won the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Tournament championship with a 78-63 win against San Francisco State Saturday at The Sports Center on the campus of Cal State San Marcos.
The win earned UC San Diego the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. It also moved the Tritons to 25-5 on the season, the most victories in the history of the program.
The Tritons hit eight treys in the first half and seven more in the second stanza. Five players netted multiple threes, including Aleks Lipovic, who had six. Anthony Ballestero, Scott Everman, Adam Klie and Christian Oshita each had two and George Buaku drained one.
Lipovic and Klie both ended their nights with 18 points, while Oshita totaled 15. Klie tacked on seven assists and six rebounds to his stat line.
Coley Apsay was the top scorer for the Gators with 14 points. Derrick Brown was just behind with 13 and Warren Jackson had 10. AJ Kahlon hauled in a game-high seven rebounds.
UCSD out-shot SFSU, 49 percent (26-53) to 37 percent (20-54). The Gators made nine three-pointers.
Klie was named the tournament's MVP, while Lipovic, Oshita, Apsay, and Kahlon were also named to the all-tournament team.
It was the second CCAA Tournament championship for UC San Diego, which won it in 2008 as well.
The NCAA West Regional field and host will be announced on Sunday, March 5 at 7:30 p.m. PT via a live selection show at NCAA.com.