SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara Men's Basketball team (9-6) returned to The Thunderdome as the Gauchos started this two-game homestand against the Roadrunners of Cal State Bakersfield. Despite the first half deficit, the Gauchos came back in thrilling fashion to take down the Roadrunners in overtime with a score of 66-64.
 
FROM HEAD COACH JOE PASTERNACK
"We were not very good tonight. Overall, I am just so proud of the fight our team had to the very last second. We couldn't make a free throw, we turned the ball over 19 times, and they out-rebounded us. Every stat was against us. One word we use is attitude, which is how you respond when something bad is happening, and our guys just kept fighting, fighting, fighting until the bitter end and I couldn't be prouder of their grit. Obviously, we have to correct a lot of things, but when we really defend and hold teams to under 40 percent from the field, that is the difference for us. We obviously have to fix our turnovers and our rebounding."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
This game didn't start in favor of the Gauchos as their defense couldn't keep up with the Roadrunners while UC Santa Barbara's offense could not drain any shots. By the time it was halfway through the first half, the Roadrunners were up by 10 and the Gauchos needed to come up with an answer. They found that answer with Josh Pierre-Louis and Ajay Mitchell as the two seasoned players worked to close the gap. By the end of the first half, the Gauchos were only down by three as the Roadrunners headed to the locker room with the 26-23 advantage.
 
When these two teams stepped back onto the court, neither team could get in a rhythm to start. That was until the Roadrunners got hot yet again. They grew their lead to nine with 12 minutes left in the second half as UC Santa Barbara needed to pick up the pace in order to stay in this game. Ajay Mitchell tied the game up with four minutes left, but it didn't keep the Roadrunners at bay as they ended up taking the lead yet again. The last minute of the game became an eventful one as the Gauchos were working from behind, hoping to make some magic happen in The Thunderdome. By the time the clock hit zero, the Gauchos ended up tying the game and taking this into overtime with the score tied at 56.
 
Once overtime began, the Gauchos remained hot. Cole Anderson continued to make key plays that kept the Gauchos in a good spot. However, the Roadrunners responded well to the pressure as the outcome of this Big West game came down to the very final seconds. As Ajay Mitchell tried to work his way through the Roadrunners, he was stopped, passing the ball off to freshman Jason Fontenet II. He came up big for his team, making the final basket and free throw that gave UC Santa Barbara the 66-64 win.
 
LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS

• Ajay Mitchell led the team in scoring tonight, putting up 22 points while making eight of his 14 shots from the field. To top it all off, he also added on five rebounds, three assists and two steals.
• Josh Pierre-Louis was second on the team in scoring tonight, coming up big to keep the Gauchos within reach in the first half. He finished the night with 12 points while adding on five rebounds and a block.  
• Cole Anderson scored all of his points late in the second half and in overtime. Once he got hot, he could not be stopped as he went on to score 11 points.
• Yohan Traore also contributed double-digit points, securing 10 in tonight's game. He also helped out on defense with six rebounds and a career-high two blocks.
• Ariel Bland was a monster on defense for the Gauchos. He led the team in rebounds, grabbing 10. He also stopped the Roadrunners on numerous occasions, adding on three steals and three blocks.   

UP NEXT
The Gauchos will return to The Thunderdome this Saturday, Jan. 13, as they take on Long Beach State. Tip-off will be at 7 p.m. as the Gauchos and the Beach face each other on ESPNU.