LA JOLLA — Against the 23rd ranked team in the land, the Stanislaus State men's basektball team battled tough and stayed close until the final five minutes of the game as UC San Diego won 67-57 Thursday night at RIMAC Arena.

Jaelen Ragsdale led the Warriors with 17 points — including seven free throws — and Kyle Gouveia added 11 points but it was not enough as the Warriors fall to 4-8 overall and 1-4 in CCAA play. Richard Medina chipped in 10 points and Vondel Faniel pulled eight rebounds and scored eight points.

UC San Diego, winner of four straight games, improved to 11-2 overall and 6-0 in the CCAA.

It was a close game for 35 minutes of the game and the Warriors led by five in the first half and had a three-point lead on a Joey Bennett layup with 16:27 to play in the second half. Stan State led by one at 7:47 to play on a Faniel layup, but UCSD went on a 13-1 run to build a 60-49 lead to pull away.

Stanislaus out-shot UCSD on the floor, hitting on 41.7 percent of shots to UCSD's 36.5 percent. However, the Tritons made 18 of 20 free throws and out-rebounded the Warriors 35-27.

The Warriors will play their next four CCAA games at home, starting on Jan. 6, hosting Sonoma State.