Otterbein Eliminates UC San Diego

The UC San Diego men’s basketball team never recovered from a devastating start as it lost, 108-95, to Otterbein in a semifinal game of the NCAA Division III Sectional tournament at the Otterbein Rike Center.

Otterbein’s James Bradley scored 22 of his team’s first 23 points--all in the first five minutes--as Otterbein flew to a 16-point lead.

By halftime, however, UCSD had cut the deficit to 11, 51-40, despite hitting only nine of 18 free throws.

Bradley, a 6-foot-2 guard who played two years at Ohio State, finished with 43 points, connecting on 15 of his 23 shots from the field. He was also five of eight behind the three-point arc.

As a team, Otterbein shot 56.3% from the field. UCSD shot at a 45.1 clip.

It was furthest--two victories from the final four--that UCSD has advanced in national competition since its program started in 1969.