By Mark Zeigler

San Diego State unveiled a Sweet 16 banner Wednesday night at Viejas Arena against a school playing its first game as a full-fledged Division I member.

The Aztecs have some work to do to hang another one.

A year after trailing by 14 inside seven minutes to go and winning on a put-back at the buzzer, SDSU tempted fate and offered UC San Diego an $80,000 payday to play at Viejas Arena. And nearly got burned.

The Tritons led again with seven minutes to go, although this time by only five points, and the Aztecs needed another furious rally after a disjointed opening 33 minutes to win 63-58 before a soldout (and nervous) crowd in Viejas Arena.

“Scheduling is always hard,” coach Brian Dutcher said. “You always think, well, we’re not going to do this again. Then the dates line up, and it’s a good game for both teams, and you do it. They’ve given us great games the last two years. They’ve had a chance to win both, and we found a way to make enough timely plays to get victories.”

Said Tritons guard Tyler McGhie, who had 21 points: “We worked all summer and all fall for this. I think we can compete with anyone. At the end of the day, they put their shorts on just like we do.”

It was the season opener for both teams and preserved several prodigious SDSU streaks: 39 straight wins against the current membership of the Big West, 18 straight in openers against unranked opposition, 15 straight in home openers and 15-0 all-time against the Tritons.

But make no mistake: It was a grind.

The Aztecs managed just 24 points in the first half, flummoxed by a Tritons’ matchup zone. They didn’t dominate the offensive boards like you’d expect against a team that played no one taller than 6-foot-8. They stepped out of bounds with the ball (twice). Coach Brian Dutcher was forced to abandon plans to play two bigs and went with four guards down the stretch.

It took a 12-0 run late to energize the increasingly anxious faithful in Viejas.

“We see it as a league game, honestly,” redshirt sophomore Miles Byrd said. “We came in today and on the whiteboard in the locker room it says, ‘Winning is hard.’ We know that. I was on the bench. I saw the energy UCSD brought last year in their arena. You know they were going to come into this game confident. We prepped hard. We respected them.”

Making his first career start, the 6-7 Byrd had a monster night of stat stuffing: 20 points, eight rebounds, three assists, five steals, four blocks. According to SDSU media relations, that’s only the second time over the last 10 seasons that a Div. I player has had at least 20 points, eight rebounds, five steals and four blocks in a game.

Florida Atlantic transfer Nick Boyd had four turnovers running the point but made the play of the game at the other end, drawing a charge on UCSD’s Chris Howell with 49.9 seconds left in a four-point game.

It capped a dominating defensive stand. UCSD led 50-45, then missed seven of its next nine shots with four turnovers. McGhie was 5 of 5 in the second half … but didn’t score (or take a shot) over the final 9:59.

“It was tough,” McGhie said. “I don’t know, I was trying to get open. … They were throwing different guys on me, so I got worn down a little bit.”

“The momentum in the second half, I feel like it came from our defense,” said Jared Coleman-Jones, SDSU’s lone big on the floor over the closing minutes. “We had to really turn up our defensive intensity. We just had to change the way we played.”

Boyd and BJ Davis each had 11 points, and Coleman-Jones added nine points and nine rebounds as the Aztecs hit the same scoring total as last year against the Tritons.

The Tritons shot 32.8 percent, and that was after being 50 percent overall and 6 of 9 behind the arc in the second half. That tells you how much they struggled in the first half, when they had six shots blocked and shot 18.2 percent.

Even so, they trailed only 24-22 because the Aztecs couldn’t put the ball in the basket, either. A 21-10 lead became a 22-21 deficit with turnovers on their next three possessions, followed by four straight misses, followed by another turnover.

With nine minutes left, the Tritons’ lead was six.

“Well, I liked that a lot better than being down the 14 points with (seven) minutes to go like we were last year,” Dutcher said. “We didn’t have to come from so far behind. It’s a young team, maybe not age-wise but playing together.”

The scariest part: Their next four Div. I games are against No. 6 Gonzaga, which just beat No. 8 Baylor by 38; No. 15 Creighton, which scored 99 in its opener Wednesday; Oregon, which received votes in the Associated Press preseason poll; and another power conference school in the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas.

“With what’s around the corner, we wanted to desperately win this game,” Dutcher said. “We’re grateful to get a win. You know what’s ahead.”

              Notable

Next up: Div. III Occidental at home on Nov. 12. The game, like Wednesday night’s, will be aired on YurView (Channel 4 on Cox and Spectrum) as well as streamed on the Mountain West Network … Freshman Thokbor Majak did not suit up, a strong indication that he’ll redshirt this season. “I don’t have a problem with it,” he said recently. … The officiating crew: Michael Irving, Randy Richardson and Tommy Nunez.

Aniwanina Tait-Jones, the Big West newcomer of the year last season, finished with 13 points before fouling out. Howell, a Torrey Pines High alum and Saint Mary’s transfer, had nine points in his UCSD debut … Redshirt freshman Magoon Gwath had three early blocks but left in the second half with leg cramps and didn’t return. He finished with one point and one rebound in 23 minutes … The SDSU lineup down the stretch: Boyd, Byrd, Davis, Wayne McKinney and Coleman-Jones. The rotation went 10 deep, although Brown transfer Kimo Ferrari got only two minutes.

Originally Published: November 6, 2024 at 9:12 PM PST

Hello there,

It’s the day after Election Day. San Diego County elections officials have tallied about a million votes and have more than a half-million more to count.We’ve got a breakdown for you below on how results are shaping up as of Wednesday morning.

First, take a minute to check out some of our Election Day coverage. Our editorial cartoonist Steve Breen visited several vote centers Tuesday to talk to residents about their top issues and how they’re voting.

He also drew them. Take a look on Instagram.

inewsource reporters also visited vote centers during the day and attended election parties Tuesday night where local candidates and their supporters celebrated early victories and confronted losses.

🗳️ Getting to this post later? Go to inewsource.org to see the latest city, county, state and federal results at our Election Source.

State and national early results

U.S. president

Early results: Donald Trump declared victory in the race for the White House, overcoming current vice president Kamala Harris after a heated, tense and too-close-to-call campaign that capped off when Trump was projected to secure the last electoral votes he needed to win with Pennsylvania. Harris delivered a concession speech at her alma mater, Howard University, this afternoon. 

What we covered: The outcome of the presidential election is expected to have a big impact on thousands of asylum seekers who have been waiting months to enter the U.S. through the Biden administration’s current appointment program. 

State Assembly, 75th District 

Early results: Republican Carl DeMaio appears poised to easily defeat fellow Republican Andrew Hayes, winning 60% of the vote so far. 

What we covered: DeMaio’s campaign leaned into voter anxiety on the border and suggested with little evidence that noncitizens could impact the outcome of the election. 

City of San Diego races show mostly Democrats leading 

San Diego mayor 

Early results: Democratic incumbent Mayor Todd Gloria celebrated a strong lead over his opponent Larry Turner, winning 54.6% of the vote in early returns. 

What we covered: Homelessness was a top issue for San Diego voters. Key areas of concern were how to deal with unhoused residents and provide shelter beds.

San Diego city attorney

Early results: Deputy City Attorney Heather Febert held a strong lead over opponent Brian Maienschein with 56.3% of the vote. 

What we covered: If he won, Maienschein would have pulled down his annual pension allotment from his time as a councilman, plus the almost $240,000 annual salary as the city’s top lawyer. 

San Diego City Council, District 3 

Early results: Democratic incumbent Stephen Whitburn is poised to easily hold onto his seat with 59.8% of the vote against his challenger Colleen Cusack. 

From our partners: Early results show San Diego County Supervisor Joel Anderson winning reelection

San Diego City Council, District 9 

Early results: Democratic incumbent Sean Elo-Rivera held a strong lead over opponent Terry Hoskins with 58% of the vote in early returns.  

From our partners: Sean Elo-Rivera takes lead Over Terry Hoskins in San Diego District 9 race

County supes poised for reelection

County supervisor, District 1

Early results: Incumbent Nora Vargas held a commanding lead over challenger Alejandro Galicia with 61.6% of the vote.

From our partners: Nora Vargas poised to win second term as San Diego County Supervisor

County supervisor, District 2 

Early results: Republican incumbent Joel Anderson picked up 61.4% of the early vote against his opponent, Democrat Gina Jacobs. 

From our partners: Early results show San Diego County Supervisor Joel Anderson winning reelection

County supervisor, District 3

Early results: Early returns showed Democratic incumbent Terra Lawson-Remer leading over Republican challenger Kevin Faulconer 56%-44%.

What we covered: A political action committee was set to spend over $800,000 to help elect Faulconer, with its top donors also being developers who need to secure approval from the county to move their projects forward.

Chula Vista schools race

Early results: It’s still a tight race for the Chula Vista Elementary School District’s Seat 4, with Francisco Tamayo leading over incumbent Kate Bishop and three other candidates. For Seat 2, incumbent Lucy Ugarte held a wide lead over Sharmane Estolano.

What we covered: Tamayo’s decision to run against Bishop could result in a special election with taxpayers footing the bill or a board appointment. And this year could bring multiple vacancies — school board member Cesar Fernandez was leading in early returns in his bid to join the City Council.

Opposition to local and state measures slightly leading

Prop 33

Early results: Voters resoundingly rejected Prop 33 with 3 in 5 voting no. 

What we covered: Prop 33 would have given local governments more control over local rent control laws.

Measures E & G 

Early results: Two local sales tax increases, pitched as ways to fund infrastructure projects, are ones to watch as more votes are tallied. Opponents of the city of San Diego’s Measure E, a one-cent citywide sales tax, are leading supporters by less than 2 percentage points. And opponents of Measure G, a half-cent countywide sales tax, are leading by about a 3 percentage-point margin. 

What we covered: Some of Measure G’s top financial supporters were companies that have received massive contract increases in recent years from the agency which would have received most of the measure’s funding.

Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to address the nation Wednesday to officially concede the 2024 presidential election to Donald Trump.

Harris is expected to deliver a speech to the country and her supporters at Howard University in Washington D.C., her alma mater, a campaign co-chair confirmed to NBC News. The timing of Harris’ speech was not immediately known. Three campaign sources tell NBC News it will be later in the day.

“We still have votes to count. We still have states that have not been called yet. We will continue overnight to try to make sure that every vote is counted, that every voice has spoken,” campaign co-chair Cedric Richmond said. “So you won’t hear from the vice president tonight. But you will hear from her tomorrow, because she will be back here tomorrow to address not only the HU family, not only to address her supporters, but to address the nation.”

The school had served as her election night headquarters where Harris had hoped to deliver a victory speech Tuesday night. But as midnight approached on the East Coast and election results trickled in showing victories for Donald Trump, the cheers in the crowd became silent and the Harris campaign turned off its projected broadcasts of CNN. Instead, the DJ blared music from speakers to hype the crowd.

Harris’ surest way to 270 electoral votes was through Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, states Trump won in 2016 and President Joe Biden captured narrowly in 2020. But in state after state, including North Carolina and Georgia, Trump outperformed what he did in the 2020 election while Harris failed to do as well as Biden did in winning the presidency four years ago.

Trump’s win against Harris, the first woman of color to lead a major party ticket, marks the second time he has defeated a female rival in a general election.

Harris rose to the top of the ticket after Biden exited the race with less than 100 days until Election day after a disastrous debate with the Republican nominee raised questions about his age and ability. Despite an initial surge of energy and excitement around her campaign, she struggled during a compressed timeline to convince disillusioned voters that she represented a break from an unpopular administration.

Harris focused particularly on reproductive rights, an issue that drew women to her candidacy after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision and states began implementing restrictions on abortions. And while abortion rights measures won in seven states, it wasn’t enough get Harris the win.

Some states have added abortion rights to their Constitution, while two have rejected measures.

Trump, meanwhile, sought to court male voters with a hypermasculine approach. At the ballot box, Trump trounced Harris among men while about half of women backed Harris.

Trump ultimately won over voters with grand promises to improve the economy, block the flow of immigrants on the Southern border and his siren call to “make America great again.”

Overall, about half of Trump voters said inflation was the biggest issue factoring into their election decisions, according to evidence from the NBC News Exit Poll.

Nearly half — 45% — of all voters said they were worse off financially than they were four years ago. That was a higher level of dissatisfaction than what registered in exit polls in any recent election going back to 2008, when the election took place amid the financial crisis that propelled Barack Obama to victory. And though the economy is growing, with a low jobless rate and a booming stock market, 2 in 3 voters rated the U.S. economy poorly, a level higher than in 2020, when the country struggled to get in gear during the Covid pandemic.

Harris and Trump ran very different campaigns, with Harris promising to work with people who disagreed with her, while Trump warned about “the enemy within.” Besides abortion rights, she emphasized preserving democratic norms and tackling housing costs and other bread-and-butter economic issues.

Harris refused to be drawn into spats with Trump, when for example he questioned whether she had downplayed her identity as a Black woman. Harris’ mother came to the United States from India while her father is from Jamaica.

Trump characterized Harris as a socialist, though she has a more centrist record, and insulted her intelligence and her qualifications. Harris was San Francisco’s district attorney and California’s attorney general before becoming a U.S. senator. Biden tapped her as his running mate after she ended her own campaign for president in 2020.

But as part of the Biden administration, Harris struggled with other issues — the war in Gaza was the main one — over which she alienated many traditional Democratic voters.

By contrast, Trump presented a dark vision of America, and one that fact checkers found filled with exaggerations and inaccuracies. He called migrants “vermin” and charged they were committing violent crimes, made wild accusations about schools helping transgender schools transition without their parents’ consent, and repeated his false claims that he, not Biden, had won the 2020 presidential election. Late in the campaign, a comedian at his Madison Square Garden rally insulted Puerto Ricans with a “floating island of garbage” punchline. 

Trump has been found guilty of illegally influencing the 2016 election by making hush payments to a porn actress. He faces federal charges over his efforts to remain in the White House after the 2020 election and state charges in Georgia. 

Here is a look at candidates marking firsts after the 2024 election.