LA JOLLA – Saturday was a surprisingly cold day in La Jolla. The greeting the Chico State men's basketball team received inside RIMAC Arena was downright chilly. UC San Diego handed the Wildcats their worst loss in nearly two years, 69-53.
 
One night after collecting perhaps their best win of the season at Cal Poly Pomona the Wildcats played like a fatigued team, committing a season-high 19 turnovers to fall to 7-4 overall and 4-2 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA).
 
The Wildcats, whose previous seven conference losses over the past two seasons were by a combined 14 points, fell into a five-way tie for second place in the conference standings. They also had their nine-game in-conference road win streak snapped.
 
UC San Diego, which enjoyed 19 points off Chico State turnovers, improved to 5-5 overall and 3-3 in the CCAA behind Drew Dyer's 29 points on 11-of-17 shooting.
 
Tanner Giddings scored a career-high 16 points to go along with seven rebounds and two blocked shots, but the junior transfer from Fresno State proved to be Chico State's lone effective weapon against the Tritons. Jordan Semple, Robert Duncan, Chris Magalotti and Drew Kitchens scored six points apiece.
 
UC San Diego finished the first half with a 7-0 spurt to take control of the game, taking a 31-24 advantage into the locker room. The Wildcats never got closer than seven, and when the Tritons put together another 7-0 push midway through the second stanza their lead was 15 and they were never threatened after that.
 
Chico State, which has played five of its first six conference games on the road, will start a four-game homestand Friday night against Humboldt State. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30.