The Wildcats split victories Thursday night as the men’s basketball team came away with a win by a score of 66-56 in a tough battle against the UC San Diego Tritons. Despite a strong showing, the women’s team fell short of an upset by a score of 67-55.

The men’s team came out firing and opened the game on an 8-0 run. The game would turn into a back and forth battle.

UCSD was able to claw back and have the lead 34-33 at the half. After the Wildcats tied the game at 48, they took the lead and never gave it back.

Corey Silverstrom lead the Wildcats in scoring with 15 points, nine coming from beyond the three point line. He added nine rebounds as well. Jalen McFerren had 14 points and nine rebounds .

“Our aggressions to start off with the starting five was great. We haven’t had that kind of energy all year. (Corey) Silverstrom set the tone for us and we just followed the way,” said McFerren.

The women’s team fell just short on what would have been a major upset. The Wildcats played the Tritons tough all the way down to the wire.

With five minutes to go, the Wildcats tied the Tritons at 55, before going on a scoreless drought for the final five minutes and being forced to foul, letting the Tritons run away with it.

“They hurt (us) on the offensive rebounding. We gave up too many offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter,” said Head Coach Brian Fogel. “They’re 22-3 and there’s a reason why.”

Kayla Taylor had a double-double for the Wildcats, her first of the season. Taylor led the team with 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

The Wildcats finish their regular season home schedule at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday when they take on Cal State San Marcos, with senior night ceremonies preceding both games.

Noah Enns can be reached at [email protected] or @NoahEnns21 on Twitter.