Tritons beat Idaho, improve to 4-0 in basketball season

UC San Diego rallied from a pair of 13-point first-half deficits Saturday afternoon to defeat Idaho 75-67 at LionTree Arena.

The Tritons still trailed 36-26 at halftime but scored the first eight points after the break and took the lead for good at 58-56 on a short Emanuel Prospere II jumper in the lane with five minutes and 36 seconds to play. The Tritons scored 12 straight points to open a 64-56 lead.

Junior transfer guard Tom Beattie led the Tritons with 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Forward Leo Beath also scored 15 points, with guard Aidan Burke adding 13.

The Tritons improved to 4-0 while Idaho fell to 2-2 after back-to-back losses at the University of San Diego and UC San Diego this week.

“I thought we dictated the game a little better in the second half,” said UCSD coach Clint Allard. “They were a little comfortable in the first half. We came out in the second half and right away we were impacting the ball, deflecting it and turning defense into offense. I thought that changed the game.

“We have a group that at any point can go on a spurt, get some stops and turn that into offense and get up and down the floor. We have some guys who want to get out and run and attack in the paint. We really came out way ahead on the paint points (36-18). That was an important stat for us.

“And I thought we did a good job matching their physicality.”

UCSD is now off until Nov. 24, when the Tritons play Temple in the opener of the Terry’s Chocolate ESPN Events Invitational in Kissimmee, Fla.