Box Score LOS ANGELES – Cal State L.A.'s men's basketball team has clinched a spot in the California Collegiate Athletic Association Championship Tournament thanks to a dramatic win Friday night over UC San Diego.

The Golden Eagles rallied from a five-point deficit in the final two minutes to edge the Tritons, 71-70, in the Eagles Nest. Cal State L.A. (15-10, 12-9 CCAA) got a pair of driving layups, a pair of clutch free throws and some outstanding defensive stops down the stretch to win the game.

Cal State L.A. is currently fifth in the CCAA, one game back of Cal State Stanislaus and one ahead of San Francisco State with one game left in the regular season. The Golden Eagles will open tournament play on Thursday at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario.

UC San Diego (14-11, 10-11 CCAA) slips one game behind sixth-place San Francisco State with one game remaining.

Duce Zaid, who had an overpowering offensive game on Friday, hit the game-winning free throws with seven seconds remaining to put the Golden Eagles ahead. He finished with a game-high 26 points, going 8-for-11 from the floor and hitting 9-of-10 from the free-throw line.

Quinton Watkins had 19 points and six rebounds and Joshua Munzon had 11 points and four rebounds.

Although James Tillman only scored two points, he was stifling defense down the stretch and blocked a pair of shots and forced the final missed shot by the Tritons just before the buzzer.

James McCann led a balanced UC San Diego attack with 15 points, while Adam Klie had 14 points, Hunter Walker had 13 points and Treavon Francis had 11 points and seven rebounds.

Cal State L.A. shot 41.9 percent for the game (26-of-62), while UC San Diego shot 52.2 percent (24-of-46), including a sizzling 63.6 percent in the first half. The Golden Eagles, though, had a decisive edge on the boards, enjoying a 38-26 rebounding advantage. Cal State L.A. also had only 10 turnovers to 15 for the Tritons.

The game was tight throughout and neither team could build a lead larger than seven points. Cal State L.A. scored the first five points of the game for its biggest advantage and UC San Diego held seven-point leads twice.

The Golden Eagles took a 33-29 lead late in the first half after a pair of free throws by Zaid, but UC San Diego scored the final six points of the half to take a 35-33 halftime lead. A dunk by Solomon Singer tied the game at 55-55 with 10 minutes to play, but UC San Diego went on a 10-3 run to take a 65-58 lead after a 3-pointer by Treavon Francis with seven minutes to go.

Cal State L.A. still trailed by seven points until three straight layups by Watkins brought the Golden Eagles back to within 66-65 with 3:16 remaining. McCann hit a pair of free throws and Klie scored on a driving layup to boost the Tritons' lead to 70-65 with 2:32 left, but the Golden Eagles blanked the Tritons the rest of the way.

Zaid made a driving layup to cut it to 70-67 with 1:59 to go and Tillman blocked a pair of shot attempts by McCann before a layup by Watkins made it 70-69 with one minute to play. Munzon grabbed the rebound of a missed jumper with 31 seconds to go and Zaid was fouled driving to the basket with seven seconds to go.

Zaid hit two free throws and Tillman led another strong defensive stand to force a heavily-contested missed layup in the final second.

Cal State L.A. will return to action on Saturday with a game against first-place Cal State San Bernardino in the Eagles Nest. The Golden Eagles will honor their three seniors – Solomon Singer, James Tillman and Quinton Watkins – in pre-game ceremonies.