UC San Diego defeated UC Irvine 92-88 in overtime Saturday to move into a tie for first place with the Anteaters atop the Big West.
Senior Bryce Pope scored a career-high 32, including a three-pointer with less than a second to play in regulation to push the game into OT.
With the win at LionTree Arena, the Tritons (19-9) improved to 13-3 in the Big West to equal UC Irvine’s (20-8) conference record with four games remaining in the regular season.
Pope was one of four UCSD players to finish in double figures. Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones had 14, Tyler McGhie and Francis Nwaokorie had 11 apiece, and Hayden Gray had 10. Tait-Jones and Nwaokorie led the way on the glass with seven rebounds each.
“Our guys just kept playing and kept fighting,” head coach Eric Olen said, adding that “in crunch time, when we really had to have it, we got a couple big stops and that was the difference.”
As expected, it was a physical contest, with the first half punctuated by runs from each side. The Tritons took an early 9-6 lead after a bucket from Pope before an 8-0 Anteater run gave the visitors a 14-9 lead.
UC Irvine was up by nine and the Tritons responded with a 12-0 spurt to surge back ahead, 38-35, with 2:30 on the clock. An Andre Henry basket with 26 seconds left gave UC Irvine a 41-40 lead at the half.
The Anteaters held a commanding 19-11 lead on the glass in the first half, but UCSD scored 20 points in the paint and shot 56% overall.
After halftime, UC Irvine clung to a 50-47 lead when the Triton offense exploded for a 14-0 run over a four-minute stretch. McGhie knocked down a pair of three-pointers and Nwaokorie added one. A baseline jumper from Pope forced a UCI timeout with the Tritons leading, 61-50, with 12:11 left.
Yet the Anteaters clawed their way back, hitting 10-of-12 shots to regain a slim lead, 77-76, with 79 seconds to play.
UC San Diego was held scoreless for 2:36 as UCI made its run, but a driving layup by Tait-Jones put the Tritons on top by one with 57 seconds left before a three from Andre Henry gave UCI an 80-78 lead with 35 seconds left.
After a free throw gave the Anteaters an 81-78 lead, the Tritons turned to Pope with time winding down. He rewarded their faith, hitting a running three over two defenders to tie the game and send it to overtime.
In OT, sophomore Quin Patterson came off the bench and knocked down a three-pointer from the corner to put the Tritons on top, 84-83.
UCSD closed out the win with four free throws down the stretch from Tait-Jones, who finished 6-for-6 from the line.
Pope bounced back from his performance in UCSD’s first meeting last month against Irvine, when he was limited to just eight points in a 76-65 loss.
The Tritons hit the road for the final time in Big West play, visiting Cal State Bakersfield at 7 p.m. Thursday and CSUN at 5 p.m. March 2.
