Malcolm Thomas slams home two of his 20 points/(619 Sports photo/David Olender)
Each year, head coach Chris Carlson has started his season at UCSD by challenging the big boys down the road on Montezuma Mesa. It’s an opportunity for the Division II Tritons to step up their level of competition, while giving the D-I Aztecs a chance to knock off the rust and start the year with a win. And usually, the Tritons keep it close for a half.
The script played out to form Saturday afternoon in front of 5,520 fans at Viejas Arena. The Aztecs led the Tritons just 31-28 at the half before stifling them out of the locker room, opening the second half on a 16-0 run which led to a comfortable 77-52 victory.
Steve Fisher’s team is going to be a work in progress this year, but he has some impressive tools to work with, and more on the mend. With Billy White (wrist), Tyrone Shelley (foot) and Tim Shelton (knee) all sidelined by injury, the scoring load went to Malcolm Thomas and Brian Carlwell, two junior transfers who were making their SDSU debuts. Thomas scored 13 of his 20 points in the second half and added a game-high 9 rebounds. Carlwell added 9 points, 5 rebounds, a blocked shot and two steals.
Fisher deemed it a good start against an always determined opponent in UCSD:
UCSD head coach Chris Carlson thought the Tritons learned a lot in the matchup:
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