UCSB men’s basketball defeats UC Davis

By KRISTEN KELLER UCSB SPORTS

The UCSB men’s basketball team (23-7, 14-5 Big West) started the final week of regular season Big West play as they made the trip to Davis to take on the UC Davis Aggies. Following this trip, the Gauchos rounded out their last road game with a win, taking down the Aggies 89-86 on their home court.

“This was such a gritty road win for our team. I couldn’t be prouder of our players for the fight they showed tonight,” said Coach Joe Pasternack.

How It Happened

UCSB started the game on pace with the Aggies as the two teams were tied until the clock went below 15 minutes. UC Davis went on a seven-point run to take the lead and by the 10-minute mark, the Aggies extended their lead 10. With the help of Josh Pierre-Louis, Andre Kelly and Cole Anderson, they battled back within one of the Aggies before halftime as they were only down 37-36.

Once the Gauchos returned to the court, they were ready to continue the fight against this tough Big West opponent. The Gauchos took the lead early in the second half before UC Davis lit up and went on a 12-point run to take a comfortable lead in the first five minutes. Even with this advantage, it wasn’t enough to hold off the Gauchos. UCSB came back from this deficit, tying the game with eight minutes left in this contest. The lead changed 11 times from there as neither team was willing to give up this battle. But in the final minute of play, the Gauchos took control with a pair of free throws from Ajay Mitchell, which ultimately propelled the Gauchos to the 8986 win over the Aggies.

Looking At The Numbers

• Six Gauchos ended the night in double-digit points as this full team effort pushed UCSB to victory. The Gaucho with the most points was none other than Ajay Mitchell. The sophomore guard scored all 20 of his points in the second half, making sixof-nine shots from the field while going 100 percent from the charity stripe in those 20 minutes.

• Finishing second on the team in points was Josh PierreLouis, putting up 17 in this game while shooting 60 percent from the field. Along with that, he led the team in rebounds, grabbing six while also adding on five assists, a steal and a block.

• Two players finished the game with 15 points, and they were Cole Anderson and Miles Norris. Anderson went five-of-six from the field with just one three pointer while going 100 percent from the free throw line. Norris, on the other hand, shot at a 60 percent clip while adding on five rebounds and a block.

• Andre Kelly’s game was cut short due to foul trouble, but in his 20 minutes on the court, he put up 12 points while contributing four rebounds and a block. Senior Calvin Wishart also registered double-digit points in tonight’s game, putting up 10 points while dishing out five assists.

UP NEXT

The Gauchos will play their final game of the regular season in The Thunderdome today while honoring their five seniors Norris, Pierre-Louis, Wishart, Kelly and Ajare Sanni prior to the game. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. against Hawai’i for this nationally-televised game on ESPNU. UCSB will also look to clinch at least a share of The Big West regular season title while having their sights on setting a new school record for the most wins in a season. Fans won’t want to miss all of this action in The Thunderdome for this White Out game. As mentioned previously, the Gauchos will be on ESPNU with live stats also available through ucsbgauchos. com.

Kristen Keller is the associate athletic director for communications and digital strategy at UCSB. email: sports@newspress.com

UCSB women’s basketball’s home slate ends in tough game against Aggies

By ERIC BOOSE UCSB SPORTS

UCSB women’s basketball (1910, 12-7 Big West) certainly didn’t imagine their home schedule ending like it did Thursday night, as the Gauchos fell, 8059, against UC Davis (15-13, 11-7 Big West). Alexis Tucker scored 13 points to lead the team, and Callie Cooper added 11 more off the bench. Ila Lane moved into a tie for fourth place on the program’s all-time rebounds leaderboard.

How It Happened

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UC Davis got off to a faster start, building a 12-4 lead midway through the first quarter, but with two minutes left in the frame, the Gauchos started to put together some offense. A Skylar Burke threepointer cut the Aggie lead to five, and it looked like UCSB was getting themselves back into the game. And then UC Davis beat the first quarter buzzer on a long range, three-point heave that banked in to make it an eightpoint game instead. Despite the Gauchos’ best efforts, the scoreline never got that close again.

Despite trailing the entire second and third quarters, UCSB put the Aggies under pressure to end the third, forcing turnovers and bad shots on the defensive end and getting some shots to fall on the offense, putting together an 11-2 run in the final few minutes of the quarter. With 32 seconds to go until the fourth, the Gauchos were within 13 points and had all the momentum. But again, a Davis three-pointer handed that momentum back to the Aggies. They carried that momentum through the fourth quarter and to the final buzzer.

By The Numbers

• After Thursday’s game, Ila Lane now has 869 career rebounds, which is tied for the fourth-most in UCSB women’s basketball history.

• Callie Cooper’s 11 points Thursday night make a nice, round 150 on her young career; this is only the third time Cooper has scored in double-digits, with all three coming in the last month.

• With her seven makes from the charity stripe on Thursday, Alexis Tucker has now made over 100 free throws this season; she is shooting .829 (102-123) from the line and has only missed one of her last 25.

UP NEXT email: sports@newspress.com

The regular-season finale is up next for UCSB, and with it a trip to the islands. The Gauchos will play Hawai’i today, in a game with seeding implications for the Big West Championship. UCSB currently holds the third seed, and would clinch it with a win in Honolulu. With a loss, they could fall as far as the fifth seed. Tip off from Hawaii is set for 9 p.m. PST on Saturday.

Eric Boose is assistant director of athletic communications at UCSB.