The UC San Diego men’s basketball team will open the 2010-11 regular season this weekend at the Disney West Coast Tip Off Classic in Anaheim. The Tritons will begin the four-team event against Lewis University on Friday at 2:30 p.m., before squaring off with Dixie State on Saturday and Alaska Anchorage on Sunday at 5:00 and 1:30, respectively. All three games will be played at the Anaheim Convention Center, which is located near Disneyland at 800 West Katella Avenue in Anaheim. After this weekend’s slate, the Tritons will return to RIMAC Arena to face Academy of Art in their regular season home opener on Sunday, November 21 at 1:00 p.m.
TRITONS WRAP UP PRESEASON WITH WIN OVER UC SANTA CRUZ
After losing a 77-52 decision in a exhibition matchup with UC Irvine on November 2, UCSD bounced back with a 73-67 home victory over UC Santa Cruz on Saturday night to conclude its preseason schedule. Senior guard Casey Ryan scored a game-high 23 points on 6-of-11 shooting and pulled down 10 rebounds for the Tritons, while sophomore guard Tyler McGratch connected on all five of his three-point attempts and finished with 19 points. UCSD shot 48.8% (20-41) for the game, including a blistering 58% in the first half, while limiting UCSC to 40% (20-50) shooting on the other end. UCSD led 40-22 at the break and extended its lead to as many as 20 in the second half, before settling for the six-point win.
SCOUTING THE TOURNAMENT FIELD
• Lewis University returns eight letterwinners and four starters from last year’s team that finished with an overall record of 17-12 and lost to Drury, 82-63, in the Great Lake Valley Conference Quarterfinals. The Flyers, who were picked to finish second in the GLVC North Division this season, head to Anaheim on the heels of a huge 70-68 exhibition victory over Division I DePaul on Sunday. Junior piont guard Chris McClellan scored 17 points in the win, while senior guard Dennis Thomas Jr. added 14. Lewis shot 52% from the floor against the Blue Demons.
• Dixie State welcomes back five letterwinners and two starters from its 2009-10 squad that posted an overall record of 20-6 and claimed a share of the Pacific West Conference title for the first time in program history at 14-2. Despite their impressive regular season, the Red Storm went on to lose to eventual national champion Cal Poly Pomona in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. DSC has gone 2-1 in three exhibition games this season, defeating Whittier College (87-59) and Carroll College (81-77), while falling to Azusa Pacific (89-65). Senior forward Tom Whitehead led four players in double figures with 19 points in Monday’s win over Carroll, while junior forward Griffon Jones tallied 11 points and 10 rebounds.
• Alaska Anchorage returns four starters from last year’s team that went 17-10 overall and finished fifth in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference at 8-8. Among the returnees is senior guard Brandon Walker, who was an All-GNAC First Team selection after averaging 15.4 points and 5.3 rebounds per game in 2009-10, and senior forward Casey Robinson, who averaged 12.0 points and drained 66 threes en route to all-league honorable mention accolades as a junior. The Sewolves’ preseason featured a 111-68 triumph over their Alumni squad on Saturday.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
This weekend’s games will mark the first-ever meeting between UCSD and both Lewis and Dixie State. The Tritons are 0-1 all-time against Alaska Anchorage, losing an 80-60 decision in the first round of the NCAA Division II West Regional in Alaska in 2008.
UCSD PROBABLE STARTERS - NOTES
G - James McCann • Fr., 5-10, 165 - Finished with 11 points and six assists in exhibition win over UC Santa Cruz. G - Justin Brue • So., 6-4, 205 - Hit all six of his shots for 13 points at UC Irvine on November 2. G - Casey Ryan • Sr., 6-4, 195 - Led UCSD averaging 14.5 points and 9.0 rebounds in two exhibition games. F - Ryan Peters • So., 6-3, 200 - Enters first season as a Triton after transferring from Lehigh.
C - Christian Hatch • Jr., 6-8, 245 - Finished with 16 points, eight boards, and two assists in exhibition loss to Anteaters.
No comments:
Post a Comment