SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara Men's Basketball team (4-2) were back in The Thunderdome as they took on the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks. With the help of Ajay Mitchell contributing to over half of the team's points, the Gauchos came out victorious against the Lumberjacks with a score of 70-59. This now gives UC Santa Barbara a four-game winning streak.
 
FROM HEAD COACH JOE PASTERNACK
"Ajay was terrific this whole week, but Josh Pierre-Louis had a great night with 12 points and 10 rebounds. We've been harping on him to rebound, rebound, rebound. He's one of the best athletes in the country. And for a guard to get 10 rebounds, that's a pro. When he can do that, we are such a better team."
 
"Tonight, it was all about our defense. After the Westmont game, I told everyone here that our defense was not going to make it. We were not going to beat anybody playing defense the way we were. We practiced this all weekend preparing for Fresno State and this past week, we really improved. We held two teams to under 40 percent from the field and this team to under 60 points and we out-rebounded them 41 to 26. They are a good team, but for us, we have to keep being better on defense. For us to keep improving as a team, we have to keep getting better on defense."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
It was a pretty even game throughout the first 13 minutes as neither the Gauchos or the Lumberjacks could pull ahead by more than five points. However, at the seven-minute mark, the Gauchos lit up, going on an 8-0 scoring run to grab the lead. With Ajay Mitchell at the helm scoring 16 points in the first half alone, the Gauchos finished the first half strong with a score of 41-33.
 
Both teams started the second half hot as the Gauchos made four of their five attempted shots while the Lumberjacks went four-for-four. That was short-lived for NAU as they couldn't hang on for much longer. Northern Arizona went on a scoring drought that lasted over two minutes, preventing them from chipping away at the Gauchos' lead. By the time the game was over, UC Santa Barbara remained on top, taking down the Lumberjacks 70-59.
 
LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS

• Ajay Mitchell continues to lead the Gauchos in scoring as he put up 30 points against the Lumberjacks. Not only that, but he also led the team in assists with five while adding on two steals.
• Josh Pierre-Louis added a double-double to the stat sheet. He was second on the team in points with 12 while adding on 10 rebounds. To go along with that, he was tied for the most steals on the team with two.
• Ariel Bland also helped out on defense, securing nine rebounds and a steal.

UP NEXT
The Gauchos will make their way to Albuquerque, New Mexico as they take on the Lobos of the University of New Mexico. The game will start at 6 p.m. PT with a live stream available through the Mountain West Network.