SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The UC Santa Barbara Men's Basketball team (7-3, 0-2 Big West) put up 56 points on 61 percent shooting, outscoring the visiting Phoenix by 21 in the second half. The dominant second half performance propelled the Gauchos to a come-from-behind win. Kenny Pohto recorded his third double double of the season posting 19 points and 10 rebounds while Deuce Turner led the team in scoring with 23 points, 18 of which came in the second half.

FROM HEAD COACH JOE PASTERNACK
"For us it is all about defense and rebounding," said Pasternack. "It is never about who we are playing, we have to defend and rebound and today we out-rebounded them 44-30 and that is a big deal. Kenny (Pohto) did an excellent job defending and rebounds putting up 19 points and 10 rebounds. I also thought Jason Fontenet II was spectacular, he grabbed 13 rebounds for us and that was a huge difference for us today."

HOW IT HAPPENED
The two teams went basket-for-basket in the opening six minutes of play. At the 13 minute mark the Phoenix went on a 9-2 run to go up by eight, forcing UC Santa Barbara to take a timeout. Despite consistently getting open looks and good shots around the rim the Gauchos could not get a shot to fall. Green Bay grew their lead up to double-digits at the four minute mark taking a 29-19 lead. The Gauchos fought back and started to see shots go down. Stephan Swenson scored five points down the stretch and Deuce Turner added a three as the Gauchos cut the Phoenix lead to four as halftime hit.

Out of the intermission both teams again would trade baskets for the first four minutes. After the under 16 minute timeout a bucket by Jason Fontenet II and a three by Cole Anderson put the Gauchos back in the lead. From there it was all Gauchos. From the 16:05 mark to 8:06 the Gauchos went on a 23-3 run and took a 12 point lead. Deuce Turner contributed 11 points during the run. Zion Sensley found his stroke from deep hitting back-to-back three pointers as the Gauchos maintained their double digit lead. The Blue and Gold carried the lead to the final whistle picking up an 83-66 win over Green Bay.

LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS

• Kenny Pohto was a monster down low all night. The senior recorded his third double-double of the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds. He was big on the offensive glass grabbing six of the Gauchos 13 offensive boards.
• Deuce Turner had a stellar second half. 18 of his 23 points came in the second 20 minutes of play. He shot 63.6 percent (7-of-11) in the second half to help the Gauchos in their come from behind win.
• Jason Fontenet II was also a force on the boards. He grabbed a career-high 13 boards in the win. Four of which were on the offensive side.

UP NEXT
UC Santa Barbara will hit the road for the next two games. They start their the road trip against Loyola Marymount. The Gauchos and Lions will play on Wednesday, Dec. 18 in Los Angeles. UC Santa Barbara and LMU will tip at 7 p.m. For those unable to make the trip to LA, the game will be streamed on ESPN+.