LA JOLLA, Calif. - Only three days after their road upset of UC San Diego, the Sonoma State Seawolves were back in La Jolla looking to pull consecutive upsets over the Tritons, who came into the CCAA Tournament as the #2 seed and the #23 ranked team in the country.
Even with a 13-point second half comeback and a lead in the final seconds of regulation, the Tritons not only tied the game to send it to overtime, but overcame a tremendous overtime performance by
James Davis to score the final six points and dash SSU's Cinderella hopes, handing the Seawolves a heartbreaking 71-66 loss to end their season in the CCAA Tournament quarterfinals.
The #7-seeded Seawolves (14-13) fought through the tenaciously tough defense of UCSD and erased a 13-point second half deficit in the final eight minutes. Having not led at all in the game, Davis hit a three with three minutes to go to give SSU a 49-48 lead.
UCSD's (21-6) Drew Dyer tied the game at 53-53 with 22 seconds to go, and after a timeout, the Seawolves went to their star to try and get them the go-ahead bucket. Davis ended up getting fouled on a three-point attempt, and hit all three free throws to put SSU up with only two seconds remaining.
On the ensuing inbounds play for the Tritons, Zach McMillan found Dyer, who hit a three to tie the game and send it to overtime. The extra period didn't faze Davis, who hit a layup and two threes on the first three possessions to give the Seawolves a five point lead.
From there, the Tritons went on a 12-2 run to end the game, with UCSD forcing three missed shots and a turnover on SSU's final four possessions to escape with a victory and move on to the semifinals.
Davis led all scorers with 26 points, including his team's final 13 points.
Michael Avery had 17 points off the bench while
Luke Cochran added 10 points and seven rebounds. Dyer's 17 points led the Tritons.