Box Score SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (Nov. 7, 2022) – The first game of the season was a jam-packed affair inside the walls of The Thunderdome as the UC Santa Barbara Men's Basketball team (1-0) was back in action to start the 2022-23 season. For the first contest, the Gauchos took on the San Francisco State Gators, who UCSB faced to start the season last year.
With one of the biggest crowds in recent history, the Gauchos grabbed their first win of the season, defeating the Gators 75-59.
FROM HEAD COACH JOE PASTERNACK
"San Francisco State did a great job of preparing for us this second time from their side. From our standpoint, we did not play very well. We dominated in the first four minutes, and unfortunately, we only played to score after that. We didn't play defense or make rebounds or play hard at a championship level. We're a work in progress and we still have ways to go in this process."
"The students really showed up in force tonight. I am so proud of our students and the fact that they showed up for us. It was a great student environment."
HOW IT HAPPENED
At the start of the game, the Gauchos came out on fire. They scored 11 points right off the bat with field goals from Andre Kelly, Miles Norris, Ajay Mitchell and Cole Anderson. From there, the Gators found their way on the scoreboard and slowly inched their way back in, eventually being just three points shy of tying UC Santa Barbara. By the end of the first half, the Gauchos were up by five with a score of 32-27.
In the first half alone, Kelly went two of three from the field while Anderson was shooting 50 percent from the arc. Of the seven shots Anderson took, six were three-point field goal attempts.
Once UC Santa Barbara came back on the court for the second half, they were able to clean up their game. Anderson continued with his stellar game and Norris joined with excitement, pulling their team away from the bad guys. With this push, the Gauchos ended their first game of the year with a win, defeating the Gators 75-59.
LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS
- Anderson had the best offensive performance of the game for the Gauchos. He ended the game with a career-high 25 points. He stayed on par with his first half performance, ending the game shooting five of 10 from three.
- Norris was second on the team in points, also shooting more than 20 points. He ultimately ended with 21 points, going nine for 11 from the field. Along with that, Norris led the team in blocks, registering three in the 26 minutes he was on the floor.
- The reigning Big West Freshman of the Year Mitchell earned his first double-double of the year with points and assists. He ended today's game with 10 points and a career-high 10 assists.
- Kelly made an immediate impact since joining the Gauchos from Cal. The grad transfer had a phenomenal 14 rebounds, 11 on defense and three on offense.
UP NEXT
The Gauchos will prepare over the next three days before making the trip to Santa Cruz for a neutral site contest against the Bulldogs of Fresno State. The two teams will meet at the NBA-G League stadium, Kaiser Permanente Arena, for a 2 p.m. tipoff on Friday. FloSports will serve as the host site for the livestream with live stats also being available. For tickets, visit Ticketmaster.com.
