SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara Men's Basketball team (1-2) was back in The Thunderdome tonight in hopes of securing their first win of the season as they took on the Le Moyne College Dolphins. With Ajay Mitchell back in the lineup, the Gauchos put on a show for those in The Thunderdome as they put up 96 points compared to the Dolphins' 72 for their first win of the season.
 
FROM HEAD COACH JOE PASTERNACK
"For us, we have been shuffling our lineups and with Ajay coming back, it was a huge piece for us. The biggest issue for our team right now is turning the ball over. We are averaging 17 turnovers a game and if we don't fix that, it's going to be a tough road ahead. We are giving up transition baskets and we need to fix that. I thought our guys had great effort tonight in every other area. But it is all about our defense. We have enough offense to go around, but if we don't fix our defense moving forward, we are going to be in trouble."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Tonight's game started in favor of the Gauchos as senior Josh Pierre-Louis made the first basket of the night. Even though the Dolphins hung close in the first five minutes, the Gauchos ran away with it thanks to five made three-pointers from Cole Anderson and Ajay Mitchell shooting at 100 percent from the field. By the end of the first half, the Gauchos were up by 10 with a score of 52-42.
 
Back-to-back baskets and two made free throws by Yohan Traore started off the second half, creating some great energy in The Thunderdome. To go along with that, the Gauchos only allowed the Dolphins to make one of eight baskets during a five-minute stretch, allowing them to grow their lead. Despite Le Moyne's best efforts to chip away at the Gauchos' lead, it wasn't enough as UC Santa Barbara wrapped up this game with a score of 96-72, earning their first win of the season.
 
LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS

• Josh Pierre-Louis ended the night with his first double-double of the season. He notched 19 points while adding on a game-high 10 assists. As if that wasn't enough, he also finished second on the team in rebounds with seven.
• Cole Anderson led the offense tonight as he registered 20 points. Eighteen of those 20 points came from beyond the arc, going six for 10 from three.
• Yohan Traore lit up The Thunderdome tonight. He ended the game with 18 points, making eight of the nine shots he attempted while shooting at 100 percent from the charity stripe. To top it off, he added on four rebounds and a block.
• Ajay Mitchell's season debut went as fans could expect. In the 18 minutes he played, he put up 15 points while collecting six assists.
• Ariel Bland crashed the boards for the Gauchos tonight. He led all players on the court in rebounds and blocks, securing 11 rebounds and three blocks. He also contributed eight points, shooting at an 80 percent clip.

UP NEXT
The Gauchos will be back in The Thunderdome one more time before Thanksgiving as they take on a local opponent in the Westmont Warriors. Tipoff will be at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 22. For fans who can't make it to The Thunderdome, they can watch on ESPN+.