SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara Men's Basketball team (11-7) returned to The Thunderdome as they took on the Cal State Fullerton Titans. Despite the Gauchos best efforts to come back in the second half, they still fell short as UC Santa Barbara dropped this Big West home contest to the Titans with a score of 69-73.
 
FROM HEAD COACH JOE PASTERNACK
"Credit to Fullerton, they were ready to play. First half, we were not ready to play, and that's 100 percent on me. We just didn't have any energy. You have to win with defense and rebounding, and the first half lost us this game. We have to draw the line in the sand and play with urgency and desperation regardless of who we are playing."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Gauchos got a stop right on the first play as they went on to score the first basket. The Gauchos expanded on that, growing their lead to four early on. However, the Titans are a tough team and weren't going to let that affect them. They came back with a run of their own as Fullerton tied up the game with 10 minutes left in the first half. UC Santa Barbara couldn't stop them from there. The Titans continued to score while the Gauchos could not get into a rhythm, which resulted in them being down 28-38 at the end of the first half.
 
Once they came back on the court, the Gauchos had a slow start while the Titans picked up where they left off. They grew their lead for a short time before the Gauchos started kicking it into a new gear. UC Santa Barbara began their pursuit of the lead, only being down five by the time there was only four minutes left on the clock. The Gauchos managed to get within two, but that was the closest they would get as UC Santa Barbara fell to the Titans 69-73.
 
LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS

• Cole Anderson led all of the Gauchos in scoring against the Titans. He secured 19 points while also adding on three assists.
• Ajay Mitchell also had a great offensive performance. He finished the day with 18 points while leading the team in assists with six.
• Yohan Traore put up his first double-double as a Gaucho. His day in The Thunderdome ended with 15 points to go along with 13 rebounds. As if that wasn't enough, he shot at 100 percent from the field.

UP NEXT
The Gauchos will hit the road for one game next week as they make the trip to Honolulu as they take on the Rainbow Warriors of Hawai'i. Tip-off will be at 9 p.m. PST with a live stream available through ESPN+.