HENDERSON, Nev. (March 10, 2023) – The UC Santa Barbara Men's Basketball team (26-7, 15-5 Big West) made it to The Big West Semifinals as the second seed in the tournament as they took on the third-seeded UC Riverside Highlanders. After a slow first half, the Gauchos battled their way back into this game to defeat the Highlanders with the most points they scored this season as the final score sat at 92-87. 

FROM HEAD COACH JOE PASTERNACK
"I am so proud of our guys. It was an awesome game for a fan. It wasn't a fun game for a coach. But our guys just kept battling back and digging down deep. For us, it's all about urgency. This whole group just kept fighting and fighting. They played for 40 minutes and that's what we talked about." 

HOW IT HAPPENED
It was a slow start for the Gauchos at the Dollar Loan Center as UC Riverside took a 10-2 lead early in the first half. However, that lead didn't keep UC Santa Barbara down. They rallied back from the deficit only to be down by three at the half with a score of 42-39.

Once the teams came back on the court for the second half, the Gauchos came out on fire, taking the lead from the Highlanders. Once UC Santa Barbara equalized the game, the lead changed five times before the Gauchos held on, not letting the Highlanders back into this game. This resulted in UC Santa Barbara scoring the most points they have put up all season, scoring 92 points to the Highlanders' 87.

LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS

• Ajay Mitchell finished the game with the most points, putting up 28 points while going nine-for-14 from the field. Along with that, he led the team in assists with seven while snatching two steals.
• Josh Pierre-Louis finished his night with an impressive 20 points. His offensive efforts also led to five assists, distributing the ball well to his teammates. Not only that, but his defensive efforts did not go unnoticed as he grabbed four rebounds and two steals.
• Miles Norris was the third Gaucho to earn double-digit points in this semifinal game, putting up 16 while going five-of-seven from the field, including 100 percent shooting beyond the arc. Along with that, he was tied for a team-high six rebounds.

UP NEXT
The Gauchos will play in The Big West Championship game tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. at the Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nevada as they take on the Cal State Fullerton Titans. The game will be played live on ESPN2 with live stats available through The Big West. The Gauchos will also provide a radio stream through ucsbgauchos.com.