SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara Men's Basketball team (0-1) kicked off the 2023-24 season as they took on the Vikings of Portland State. When the final horn went off in The Thunderdome, the scoreboard didn't end in the Gauchos' favor as UC Santa Barbara dropped the first game of the season to the Vikings 82-76. 

FROM HEAD COACH JOE PASTERNACK
"Kudos to Portland State. They played really hard and their coach does a great job. I am thankful for the students and the fans that came out tonight. They packed the place and it was awesome. This is what I envisioned this place to be as we build a great home court advantage. Unfortunately, we didn't give them a lot to cheer about. We'll learn from this, we will continue to get better, and we will keep grinding. It's a long, long season and we will continue to get better and better."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Thunderdome was packed as fans came to witness the reigning Big West Champions compete in their first contest of the new season. It was evenly paced through the first 10 minutes, with neither team gaining enough momentum to pull ahead of the other. This continued throughout the remainder of the first half even with Josh Pierre-Louis and Cole Anderson racking up double-digit points as it ended with a score of 40-40.
 
The second half began like the first half ended as the first five minutes resulted in both teams exchanging baskets. But then, Portland State picked it up on offense for the advantage. Down by 10 with 10 minutes to go, the Gauchos had to pick up the pace to end this game in their favor. With a pull-away jumper from Yohan Traore and a three-point field goal from Cole Anderson, the Gauchos were within reach with plenty of time to work. Another three-pointer from Matija Belic put the Gauchos within one. The Vikings, being the strong team that they are, battled back against the Gauchos as Portland State regained control of the game. This ultimately led to the Gauchos dropping their first game of the season 82-76.
 
LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS

• Cole Anderson showed off his elite shooting in The Thunderdome. He led the Gauchos in scoring tonight with a game-high 21 points. He also went six-for-six from the charity stripe while adding on two assists and a steal.
• Josh Pierre-Louis started his final season with the Blue and Gold racking up double-digit points. He had the second-most points with 16, making six of his nine attempted shots. He also was tied for the most assists on the team with five while snatching two steals.
• In his first start as a Gaucho, Ariel Bland came out strong, grabbing a team-high 13 rebounds. He also contributed nine points and a block.

UP NEXT
The Gauchos will make the trip to El Paso, Texas to take on Conference-USA opponent UTEP on Monday, Nov. 13. This game will be live on CBS Sports at 6:05 p.m. PST. Live stats will be available through StatBroadcast.