
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones had 24 points in UC San Diego‘s 90-51 win Saturday over Cal State Fullerton, extending the Tritons’ winning streak to 11 games.
Tait-Jones also had five rebounds for UCSD (13-2, 3-0 Big West). Tyler McGhie scored 23 points and added five rebounds. Hayden Gray went 3 of 9 from the field and 1 for 4 from 3-point range to finish with nine points.
UCSD used a 46-11 run over an 18-minute stretch that spanned halftime to leave the Titans in the dust. It’s the fourth time that the duo of Tait-Jones and McGhie has scored 20-plus in the same game this season.
Lethal but his iconic pump fake.
— UC San Diego Men’s Hoops (@UCSDmbb) January 5, 2025
Niwa for the AND1!! ???https://t.co/5VtRe9h4ed#GoTritons pic.twitter.com/TTC04i9DoP
The 39-point margin of victory was the largest ever in a Big West game for the Tritons.
Fullerton trailed 16-12, when UCSD launched its first run, 11-0, over the next six minutes, including two McGhie three-pointers, for a 27-12 Triton lead with 5:57 left in the first half.
The Tritons forced 12 first half Fullerton turnovers, converting the miscues into 17 points. UCSD established a 46-23 lead at the half.
Great hustle and greater reward. Another AND1 for Niwa!!?https://t.co/5VtRe9h4ed#GoTritons pic.twitter.com/x6HCT0JDMz
— UC San Diego Men’s Hoops (@UCSDmbb) January 5, 2025
The team came out firing after the break, scoring the first 15 points of the half, and keeping the Titans scoreless for the first seven and a half minutes of the period.
“I thought we really settled in defensively and made a lot of plays, made things difficult for them,” said head coach Eric Olen. “That’s where the separation came from, was us getting stops.”
With four first half three-pointers, McGhie remained in the Division I lead. He’s knocked down 62 so far this season. Hayden Gray had three more steals in the win, giving him an NCAA-leading 56 this season.
Cal State Fullerton fell to 5-11 and 0-4 in Big West action.
UC San Diego returns to at LionTree Arena for a pair of conference games. First up: Cal Poly at 7 p.m. Thursday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.






