Men Take CCAA Basketball Championship Title for First Time in Team’s History
Women Also Heading Off to NCAA Division II Tournament

Ken Grosse | March 10, 2008

Darryl Lawlor in the midst of the action.

This weekend’s CCAA Basketball Tournament became a coming-out party for UCSD’s men’s basketball team, which won its first championship title and earned a spot in the NCAA Division II Tournament for the first time in the team’s history.

The Tritons knocked off Cal Poly Pomona, 64 to 56, and will be traveling to Anchorage, Alaska, for the eight-team NCAA West Regional starting Thursday. The Tritons will play Friday night against the University of Alaska Anchorage, the regional host.

"We’re thrilled to be going to the NCAA Tournament," said Head Coach Chris Carlson. "It’s just a fantastic feeling to be head coach at such a prestigious institution with such a great group of guys—it’s extremely special."

Meanwhile, UCSD’s women’s basketball team couldn’t hold off Chico State in their championship game. But Coach Charity Elliott’s squad will still take part in the NCAA Division II Tournament taking place March 14 to 17 in Seattle. The women’s team is the No. 4 seed and will face fifth-seeded Cal State San Bernardino at 5:30 p.m. Friday. In 2007, the Tritons post-season run took them all the way to the Final Four.

Michelle Osier goes on a run.

“We’re really excited obviously about making the tournament,” Triton junior Michelle Osier said. “We think we match up pretty well against San Bernardino because of our strong post defense.”

During the CCAA tournament, the men’s basketball team, which finished the regular season on a five-game losing streak, went overtime to upend second seed Cal State San Bernardino in the first round, won for the first time in three tries against San Francisco State in the semifinal and got 17 points from tournament MVP Henry Patterson in the title game. UCSD, which split its two previous contests with Cal Poly Pomona, led for all but the first minute and a half in the championship contest. In addition to Patterson, senior Clint Allard and sophomore Jordan Lawley were all-tourney selections.

During the championship game, four UCSD players scored in double figures, including junior Darryl Lawlor’s 11 points. Lawlor also grabbed 10 rebounds to record his second double-double of the tournament. Cal Poly hit the game’s first shot, a three-pointer from Rich Collins, but the Tritons rallied back for a 13-0 run stretching to the 14:07 mark. The scoring spree featured four successful free throws from Patterson and three shots knocked down from beyond the arc by Lawley, Allard and Lawlor.

Men's basketball coach Chris Carlson and women's basketball coach Charity Elliott.

"The key was really understanding what we had to do defensively," Coach Carlson said. "It all started on the defensive end. We got some stops early and that led to our ability to control the tempo. Offensively, we got some good looks early and were able to knock them down."

In their championship game, the UCSD women’s team were on top most of the way but just missed out on a second consecutive conference crown, 69 to 63. Their opponent, Chico State, finally secured their first second half advantage with 3:01 remaining on the clock. The Tritons grabbed the lead back with 1:31 to go but Chico State scored on the next possession and pulled away. Senior Meaghan Noud paced UCSD with 21 points and junior Osier added 14. Both were all-tournament choices.

For more information, check the Triton website at http://ucsdtritons.com