Cal State men suffer costly loss

By Michelle Gardner
Staff Writer

LA JOLLA - The Cal State San Bernardino Coyotes looked more
like the Coyotes of early rather than the Coyotes of late. That
wasn't a good thing as the Coyotes fell to a more disciplined UC
San Diego 60-63 Saturday at RIMAC Arena in a game both teams
desperately needed.

The Coyotes (13-9, 11-5) entered ranked eighth in the West
Region, just where they would need to finish to advance to the
postseason. But they still have to account for a loss on Wednesday
to Cal Poly Pomona.

The Tritons (13-9, 10-6) fell out of the rankings last week and
were in dire need of a win after losing to the Broncos on Friday.

``We have to win the conference tournament to get in and this
team doesn't have three in a row in them,'' Coyotes coach Jeff
Oliver said. ``This team is vying with the 13-13 team (2005-06) to be
the most underachieving one I've had. I'm done yelling. It does no
good.''


There was too much individual play and not enough team play as
the Coyotes tallied just five assists and 16 turnovers. Their
pathetric 14-for-23 effort from the free-throw line was also
telling.

``Free throws are all mental and that's a clear indication where
their minds were,'' Oliver said, as an assistant coach handed him
a final boxscore. ``I don't want to look at this because it'll
make me vomit.''

The Coyotes were more content jacking up shots from the
perimeter rather than working the ball inside to big man Brandon
Brown who seemed to have the mismatch in the paint. The Coyotes
shot 44.9 percent from the field but hit just 5 of 21 tries from
long distance, most of them ill-advised.

San Diego led by eight at 44-36 after a bucket inside by Shane
Poppen with 12:07 to go.

But the Coyotes answered with an 11-0 run, six of those by
DuBois Williams. His three-point play with 9:49 left gave the
Coyotes a 47-44 lead, their first since 9-7 six minutes into the
game.


The score was tied six times in the last 10 minutes, the last at
57. But Jordan Lawley made two free throws to put the Tritons up
by two.

Cal State turned the ball over on its next two possessions
without getting a shot off and the Tritons converted both times,
extending their lead to 63-57 after a put back by Poppen and two
free throws by Kelvin Kim with 2:12 to go.

The Coyotes didn't challenge again.

Devin Motngomery totaled 18 while Brown added 14 with 14
rebounds and two blocks.

San Diego shot just 36.2 percent from the field but delivered at
the stripe, making 20 of 28 tries.

``We had guys out there playing as individuals, not as a team and
that's a recipe for disaster. These guys haven't learned that,''
Oliver said.