SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (Feb. 23, 2023) – The UC Santa Barbara Men's Basketball team (21-7, 12-4 Big West) was back in The Thunderdome as the Gauchos faced Long Beach State for the second time this season. After defeating the Beach in the final minute the last time they played, the Gauchos were able to do the same yet again as they took down the Beach 78-73. 

FROM COACH JOE PASTERNACK
"In all my years of coaching college basketball, I have never coached a game with only eight scholarship players. I thought this really showed young men how to deal with adversity and that if you rise to the occasion, you can accomplish anything. They competed with unbelievable urgency and they rose to the occasion. Credit to them because they did that." 

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Gauchos were the first ones to strike after Calvin Wishart drove to the basket on the very first play of the game. But the Beach responded back, making a strong effort to take the lead by the team the first media timeout hit. This close game continued as the lead changed seven times while tying the score six times as the Gauchos were down by two heading into the half.

After the first 20 minutes, Ajay Mitchell was the only player on the court in double-digit points, putting up 13 in the first half alone. Wishart had a strong performance as well, putting up seven points with four assists while Cole Anderson put up eight points.

Once the second half began, the Gauchos were able to even the score. This went on throughout most of the second half as each team would get a slight advantage over the other, but not enough to run away with the game. This resulted in 13 more score changes before the end of the game when Mitchell put up the last seven points for the Gauchos, including a key layup that helped UC Santa Barbara sit in a comfortable position as the Beach had the ball. The Gauchos' defense kept Long Beach State from scoring as Mitchell made the final two free throws to give them the five-point lead with seven seconds on the clock, resulting in the 78-73 final score. 

LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS

• Mitchell had the best night of his sophomore campaign, putting up 28 points on the evening. Along with that, he added on six assists with four rebounds, two assists and a block. He also shot at a 60 percent clip, making nine of his 15 shots while shooting at 90 percent from the charity stripe.
• The next closest Gaucho was Anderson, who got his second start of the season. In tonight's game, he put up 18 points for his second-best finish of the season while grabbing four rebounds and two steals.
• Miles Norris also had a great evening to follow up his milestone performances. He led the team in rebounds with seven while putting up 16 points. He also contributed three steals while shooting at 50 percent from beyond the arc.

UP NEXT
The Gauchos will hit the road as they head into the final three games of the season. For their first road game, they will make the trip South to La Jolla as they take on the UC San Diego Tritons. Tipoff will be at 7 p.m. in the Lion Tree Arena. The game will be live streamed through ESPN+ with live stats through ucsdtritons.com.