San Diego Sports et Cetera : UCSD Sets Free Throw Records

UC San Diego set three NCAA Division III free-throw records in a 110-85 nonconference men’s basketball victory over Menlo College at UCSD Saturday night.

UCSD set the records because guard Rob Rittgers made 24 straight free throws after 12 technical fouls were called against Menlo following a bench-clearing fight.

Rittgers finished the game 30 of 30 from the line, breaking the previous mark of 19 in a row set by Kevin Brown of Emory & Henry in 1985. His 30 free throws broke the mark of 26 in a game by Joe Roberts of St. Andrews, set in 1975. And the Tritons made 53 of 59 attempts for the game, breaking the previous record for free throws by a team (45), set by Washington & Jefferson in 1982 and CCNY in 1983. There is no record kept for consecutive free throws by a team.

Menlo led, 27-16, with 6:48 remaining in the first half when a fight broke out between Menlo’s Ken Welsh and UCSD’s Nick Capuano. Nine Menlo players, two assistant coaches and Coach Bob Williams received technical fouls when the Menlo bench cleared. Only one UCSD player left the bench.

Welsh and Capuano were ejected, as was Williams, who was forced to leave because of the NCAA rule that requires a coach to be ejected on a team’s third technical foul. Mike Poll, who led Menlo with 26 points, and Sabre Bowden were later ejected as Menlo had 14 technical fouls called to two for UCSD.

Rittgers, a transfer from Grossmont College, stepped to the line and made 24 consecutive free throws, turning a 27-16 UCSD deficit into a 40-30 lead. Menlo made three of its four technical free throws.

Jeff Grayer scored 32 points and pulled down a career-high 24 rebounds, and No. 14 Iowa State defeated United States International University, 123-92, Saturday at Ames.

Senior guard Russ Heicke led USIU (7-13) with 26 points.

Sophomore Steve Riddle scored a game-high 20 points but Point Loma Nazarene team was defeated, 81-55, by Westmont in a Golden State Athletic Conference game at Santa Barbara Saturday night.

Point Loma Nazarene is 5-10 and 0-2.

Grand Canyon dominated Christian Heritage College for a 95-83 nonconference victory at Grossmont College. Grand Canyon (21-3) shot 63% from the field (32 of 51) and outrebounded the Hawks (7-10), 35-23.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Jessica Haynes had a school-record 24 rebounds and scored 34 points to lead San Diego State to a 95-59 victory over San Jose State in a Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. game at San Jose.

SDSU is 12-3, 4-1 in the PCAA. San Jose State is 1-3 and 0-6.

The University of San Diego’s Paula Mascari made both ends of a one-and-one with 18 seconds remaining to clinch a 62-60 overtime victory over Pepperdine in a West Coast Athletic Conference game at the USD Sports Center. USD is 6-8 and 2-0.

United States International University made six straight free throws with less than two minutes remaining as the Gulls defeated Utah, 71-67, in a nonconference game at the Jewish Community Center in La Jolla.

Seven Tritons scored in double figures as UC San Diego routed visiting Mills College, 102-43, in a nonconference game at La Jolla.

Nadirah Scott led UCSD (6-10) with 12 points.

Point Loma Nazarene took the lead at tipoff and held it until there was just 1:49 to play, but Biola made its short advantage count, holding on for a 69-65 victory at La Mirada.