UC San Diego, in its first season of NCAA Tournament eligibility, is going to the Big Dance after clinching its first Big West championship with a 75-61 victory over UC Irvine on Saturday night in Henderson,

Hayden Gray knocked down six of his seven 3-point attempts and UC San Diego pulled away late to beat UC Irvine, 75-61 to earn its first Big West Conference Tournament championship and its first NCAA T

UC San Diego (20-15), the winners of the Big West Tournament, were seeded 16th in the West Region. The Tritons will meet Southern University (20-14) in a play-in game at Pauley Pavilion on the UCLA campus at 7 p.m. Wednesday. If the Tritons win that game, they will play No. 1 seed and No. 1 ranked UCLA (30-2) Friday on the Bruins’ court.