Ball Bounces Right for USIU in Victory Over UCSD, 93-91

Gary Zarecky, U.S. International coach, and UC San Diego Coach Tom Marshall had their eyes fixed on the bouncing ball as the final seconds ticked away in their nonconference men’s basketball game at Golden Hall Saturday night.

And, boy, did that ball bounce.

UCSD, ranked No. 15 in NCAA Division III, had outplayed the Division I Gulls most of the night and--despite a furious USIU rally--had the ball for one last shot with 42 seconds remaining and the score tied, 91-91.

The Tritons worked the ball around and with eight seconds left, got it to the man they wanted: Tim Rapp. But USIU’s Mitch Brown poked the ball out of his hands.

The ball, followed by a herd of players, got to about midcourt when Kevin Bradshaw was able to get a hand on it and lob it to Demetrius Laffitte, who picked it out of the air in front of an outstretched hand of a UCSD player and scored with two seconds remaining.

USIU 93, UCSD 91.

“It was good to see one go our way,” Zarecky said with a sigh of relief. “We lost three games at the buzzer this year.”

It looked as if the Gulls were going to lose this one long before the buzzer.

USIU pulled out to a, 31-21, lead midway through the first half. But over the next seven minutes the Gulls (11-16) managed just two points--those coming on a one-handed slam by Bradshaw. The Tritons, meanwhile, scored 21 points during that stretch and led 42-33.

UCSD led, 45-39, at the half and pulled out to a 12-point lead in the second half--the last one being, 70-58, with 11:23 remaining.

USIU rallied with a 17-4 run and took a 75-74 lead on a three-pointer by Brown with 7:55 left.

The lead bounced back and forth and Steve Smith scored on a driving layup with 1:18 left to give USIU a 91-89 lead. Rick Batt hit two free throws with 56 seconds remaining to tie the game.

USIU took the ball up court, but Bradshaw was called for a five-second violation and the Tritons (20-6) got the ball back. But Rapp got cornered and USIU forced the turnover.

“I thought we were going to get it back,” Marshall said. “But the ball bounced their way.”

Bradshaw and Rapp finished with 31 points apiece. Paul Wilson added 23 for USIU and Laffitte had 19 points and 12 rebounds. Batt, who had just three points at the half, finished with 22 and eight rebounds.

The Tritons are hoping the loss wasn’t their season finale. UCSD will wait to see if it will be included in the NCAA Division III national tournament for the first time. The tournament pairings will be decided today.

The Gulls conclude their season at home Saturday against Akron.