UC San Diego wins back-to-back championship crowns - Mar 4, 2018
No. 3 UC San Diego exacted revenge for a regular-season loss to No. 1 Cal Poly Pomona at the perfect time for the Tritons - the 2017-18 CCAA Championship final. The Tritons collected back-to-back CCAA Championship titles after fending off a late-charging Broncos squad for the 68-66 win on Saturday night at Kellogg Arena. UC San Diego is the first conference team to earn consecutive victories in the tournament since Cal State San Bernardino in 2008-09 and 2009-10. After a slow start and an 11-2 early deficit, the Tritons heated up in a hurry to take the 28-21 lead at the break. Less than five minutes into the second, UC San Diego had made it 42-23 in favor of the No. 3 seed. Mikey Howell (6'3''-G) was on the receiving end of a scoop and score, getting fouled on the way up. He missed his free throw try, however, but the Tritons got the rebound. On the second possession, Christian Oshita (6'6''-G/F) sunk his attempt from beyond the arc for what would prove to be UC San Diego's largest lead of the game. But even with the momentum swinging the way of the Tritons, counting out the regular-season champion Broncos is never wise. The last five minutes of the action belonged to Cal Poly Pomona, setting UC San Diego back on their heels. With 3:24 on the clock, William Christmas (6'5''-G) went to work for the Broncos to cut the lead to single digits. UC San Diego saw the lead dwindle to three with 14.1 seconds remaining after Christmas swished a triple from the top of the arc. With 1.9 remaining, CCAA Freshman of the Year Phoenix Shackelford (6'3''-G) drained a corner three to put the Broncos down one. After a trip to the line for the Tritons, time expired before Cal Poly Pomona was able to take a last-second shot. The tournament title for the Tritons was their second-straight and UC San Diego will now advance to the NCAA Championships for the third consecutive season. CCAA Tournament Final: UC San Diego - Cal Poly Pomona 68-66 CCAA Tournament Semifinals: Cal Poly Pomona - San Francisco State 67-60 Chico State - UC San Diego 49-66
Courtesy of GoCCAA
All-CCAA Awards 2018 - Mar 4, 2018
All-CCAA 1st Team 2018
Alvano
Bayne
Bynum
Christmas
Ellis
All-Tournament MVP: Christian Oshita (6'6''-G/F) of Cal-San Diego Player of the Year: Ethan Alvano (6'1''-G) of CS San Marcos Freshman of the Year: Ethan Alvano (6'1''-G) of CS San Marcos Newcomer of the Year: Ethan Alvano (6'1''-G) of CS San Marcos Coach of the Year: Greg Kamansky of Cal Poly Pomona