{"id":200726,"date":"2026-03-02T16:44:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T16:44:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/200726\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T16:44:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T16:44:09","slug":"mens-basketball-rallies-to-fourth-straight-win-against-bakersfield-the-ucsd-guardian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/200726\/","title":{"rendered":"Men\u2019s basketball rallies to fourth straight win against Bakersfield \u2013 The UCSD Guardian"},"content":{"rendered":"

UC San Diego men\u2019s basketball (20-9, 10-7 Big West) is catching fire at the right time. As they prepare to enter the madness of March, the Tritons have won four games in a row.<\/p>\n

Their latest victory came in a smooth 84-72 win against Cal State Bakersfield (8-21, 2-15 Big West) on Thursday at LionTree Arena. The Roadrunners sit dead last in the Big West \u2014 having lost 11 straight entering the midweek matchup \u2014 and were eliminated from postseason contention weeks ago.<\/p>\n

UCSD quickly jumped out into the lead. The inside-out Triton offense carved up the Roadrunner defense, getting easy looks inside and wide-open chances from the perimeter. UCSD finished with 82 points \u2014 its first time hitting the 80-point mark since a road win against UC Davis on Jan. 22.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just try to play in transition as much as we can,\u201d freshman guard Hudson Mayes said to The UCSD Guardian in a postgame interview. \u201cWe shot well and we got to the line a good amount, so those factors went into us putting up points. To be honest, we could\u2019ve had more.\u201d<\/p>\n

UCSD\u2019s lead reached its 21-point zenith late in the first half when graduate student guard Emanuel Prospere II floated the ball into the hoop to cap off a 9-0 run. A late Roadrunner surge brought the lead back down to single digits with over three minutes remaining in the second half, but a pair of layups from junior guard Tom Beattie alleviated any fears of a Bakersfield comeback. The Tritons regained their double-digit lead and exited with a comfortable 84-72 victory.<\/p>\n

Roadrunner junior forward Ronald Jessamy was Bakersfield\u2019s only reprieve to the offensive onslaught; he became the fourth player in Big West history to record 40 points in a loss. Jessamy received little help and outscored the rest of his team \u2014 only two of his teammates made more than one field goal.<\/p>\n

The game also marked Prospere\u2019s long-awaited return from injury. Prospere missed the previous five games, but he scored 6 points in 10 minutes in his return against the Roadrunners.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he\u2019s feeling good,\u201d head coach Clint Allard said to The Guardian. \u201cThe plan today was to get him short stints and a little more exposure out there. We\u2019ll see how he responds and see if we can get more minutes of him going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

His replacement in the starting lineup, Mayes, had the hot hand once again, scoring a team-high 21 points while also nabbing seven rebounds. Mayes, who has averaged 15 points in his seven starts, seems to have secured an extended stay in the starting five.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs of now, Hudson\u2019s playing really well and we\u2019re winning some games, so [we] probably don\u2019t [want to] mess with a good thing right now,\u201d Allard said. \u201cBut we\u2019re always evaluating the lineups and rotations that work the best, and that\u2019ll continue to be the case.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the win, UCSD moved up into sixth in the tight Big West standings. The Tritons\u2019 remaining regular-season games are all against teams UCSD has lost to this season. The Tritons will hope to use the momentum they\u2019ve built to secure a top-four spot and byes in the upcoming Big West Championship.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe top eight is so congested right now,\u201d Mayes said. \u201cIt\u2019s a good start to this last stretch, but we have to keep it going. Honestly, our focus is on revenge, but in doing so, we\u2019re going to get a better seed than we\u2019re at now. That\u2019s definitely the priority; you always want to play as [few] games as we can in the tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n

UCSD continued its winning ways on Saturday, defeating Cal Poly 80-64 in its final home game of the season. The Tritons will close out the regular season on the road against Cal State Fullerton on Thursday and UC Santa Barbara on Saturday.<\/p>\n

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