UCSB men’s basketball falls to CSUN

By KRISTEN KELLER UCSB SPORTS

The UCSB men’s basketball team (18-4, 92 Big West) made the day trip to Northridge to take on the CSUN Matadors. After 16 lead changes and a very physical game, it was the Matadors who came out on top as the Gauchos lost 72-67 on the road.

“We got really good looks and they didn’t go down,” UCSB Coach Joe Pasternack said. “But when you don’t make shots, you have to be able to defend for two halves. We only defended for one. Basketball is a game of percentages; you have to play two halves. We didn’t do that the last two games.”

How It Happened

It was a slow start in the Premier America Credit Union Arena as the Gauchos and the Matadors began this Saturday night battle. Between these two teams, they exchanged the lead six times halfway through the first. After back-to-back three’s from Josh Pierre-Louis, the Gauchos were able to keep themselves ahead for a short period of time before the Matadors put up a last second three for the 3837 lead at the half.

Pierre-Louis’s 100 percent shooting from beyond the arc helped him get to 11 points as the Gauchos went to the locker room. Andre Kelly was close behind his teammate with nine points while grabbing six boards.

The second half started as the first half ended, with CSUN coming back on the court with the same momentum. They grew their one-point lead to seven before Miles Norris made a huge push. He scored seven points in just four minutes to close the gap and bring his team back into this game. Once that happened, the Gauchos went on their own run until the Matadors used their arena to their advantage. Not only did they close the gap, but CSUN took the lead again and didn’t let it go as the Gauchos dropped this road game 72-67 to the Matadors.

LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS

• Norris had the best game for the Gauchos tonight, finishing with a team-high 17 points and nine rebounds. Of those rebounds, five were offensive. Along with that, Norris added on a block.

• Kelly registered his sixth double-double of the season as he ended his time in Northridge with 10 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out of the game.

• Also helping on offense was Ajay Mitchell and Calvin Wishart, who were tied for the most assists on the team with three each.

Koat Keat Tong contributed nine rebounds in this game, with seven of those being offensive boards.

Up Next

The Gauchos will be on the road yet again, this time taking on Long Beach State at Walter Pyramid on Thursday, Feb. 9. Tipoff will be at 8 p.m. on ESPNU.

Kristen Keller is the associate athletic director for communications and digital strategy at UCSB.

email: sports@newspress.com