The UC San Diego Tritons (6-2) have won four straight games and are riding high head into the start of Big West Conference play.

After winning the Boardwalk Battle tournament in Florida on Nov. 23, coach Eric Olen’s team had a full week to prepare for Saturday’s 109-33 win over Division III La Verne and several more practices to get ready for Thursday’s Big West opener at UC Santa Barbara.

The keys to the strong start have been balanced scoring, a defense that is allowing 61.1 points per game and the consistent performance of three seniors.

Guard Tyler McGhie is averaging a team-best 18.5 points per game and leads the Big West with 30 made 3-pointers. Hayden Gray leads the nation with 31 steals, and Aniwania Tait-Jones is shooting 54.4% from the field.

UCSB (6-1) should present an interesting challenge. The Gauchos rank first in shooting in the Big West (50.4%), third in scoring (81.3 ppg) and second in points allowed (60.4), giving them the best scoring margin in the conference.

Coach Joe Pasternack’s team owns wins over Portland, San Jose State and Fresno State; UCSB’s lone loss was at home to 5-2 UTEP on Nov. 20.

Four players average 10 or more points per game. One of them is senior guard Deuce Turner, who played for USD the last two seasons.

“The level of play goes up as you move through the season and obviously, conference play is a jump there,” Olen said. “We’ve got a really good Thursday on the road and we’re all excited about the challenge.”

Next up: 7 p.m. Thursday at UC Santa Barbara (6-1); 7 p.m. Saturday vs. Cal State Bakersfield (4-4). Streaming: ESPN+.

PLNU splits two

Point Loma Nazarene (7-2) split a pair of home games last weekend, beating Seattle Pacific 82-68 on Friday and losing to Central Washington 69-68 on Saturday, dropping them from No. 12 to out of the latest Division II rankings.

The Sea Lions now hit PacWest conference play looking to capture their fourth consecutive regular season title.

Next up: 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Dominican (5-3); 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Academy of Art (4-3). Streaming: PacWestnetwork.tv

Toreros fall in Tempe

USD (3-5) got off a strong start at Arizona State Tuesday night, taking an early 12-point lead and trailing by only seven at the half before the Sun Devils ran away with a 90-53 win.

The major disparity was 3-point shooting. ASU went 12 for 23 from long range, while the Toreros were 2 for 19.

Shooting disparity has been an issue for coach Steve Lavin’s team so far this season. USD has made 24.2% from deep, while its opponents have made 35.3%.

A bright spot has been the play of junior guard Kjay Bradley. A transfer from San Diego City College, Bradley has started all eight games and is averaging a team-high 16.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.4 steals per game.

USD plays No. 24 San Diego State at Viejas Arena on Saturday night. The Toreros are 14-23 all-time against the Aztecs, with their last victory coming in 2018.

Next up: 7 p.m. Saturday at No. 24 San Diego State (4-2). TV: YurView.

G League’s Clippers stumble

The G League’s San Diego Clippers (5-4) are coming off a pair of home losses to the Stockton Kings: They fell 125-106 on Sunday and 123-116 on Tuesday.

A bright spot in Tuesday’s loss was the performance of forward Tosan Evbuomwan, who scored a season-high 27 points on 10-of-15 shooting.

Next up: 5 p.m. Saturday at South Bay Lakers (3-6). Streaming: NBAGLeague.com.