RIVERSIDE, Calif. (Feb. 18, 2023) – The UC Santa Barbara Men's Basketball team (20-6, 11-4 Big West) went on a road trip as the Gauchos took on the UC Riverside Highlanders in the SRC Arena. Despite their second half push, the Gauchos weren't able to leave Riverside with a win as the final score read 74-63. 

FROM COACH JOE PASTERNACK
"We allowed the ball to get too deep and then we were one-on-one in the post. But when you let the ball get two feet from the basket, it's hard to stop that. Until we can outrebound someone and win the battle in the paint, we aren't going to be able to get the wins."

HOW IT HAPPENED
It was a very slow start for both teams as the score sat at 5-2 by the first media timeout. However, the Highlanders woke up and ran with it, going on a 10-point run before the Gauchos could get themselves a basket. Despite that lead, it didn't keep UC Santa Barbara from rallying. The Gauchos made their push and got within three before the end of the first half as they were down 27-24 at that time.

Once the Gauchos were back on the court for the second half, they came out with a new fire. They took the lead from the Highlanders right off the bat to put them back in this contest. The Gauchos' performance created a head-to-head race for the lead, resulting in 12 different lead changes between the Gauchos and Highlanders. Even with the Gauchos' best efforts, UC Riverside pulled ahead late in the second half and wouldn't give UC Santa Barbara an opportunity to come back into this game. This resulted in the 74-63 loss for the Gauchos at UC Riverside.  

LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS

• Andre Kelly led the offensive efforts for the Gauchos, finishing the night with 22 points while leading the team in rebounds with eight.
• Also helping the offensive efforts were Miles Norris and Josh Pierre-Louis. The senior duo each added on 10 points apiece to close out their time in Riverside. Pierre-Louis also contributed six rebounds and three assists while Norris had a team-high two steals.
• Ajay Mitchell distributed the ball well to his teammates. He finished the game with six assists while also contributing eight points and a block. 

UP NEXT
The Gauchos will have a quick turnaround as they will be back in The Thunderdome on Monday, Feb. 20, as they host the Cal State Fullerton Titans. Tipoff will be at 7 p.m. in Santa Barbara with the game playing on Spectrum Sports. For those outside of southern California, the game can be viewed on ESPN+. There will also be live stats available through ucsbgauchos.com.