REDLANDS, Calif. — The No. 12 UC Santa Barbara Men's Water Polo team concluded their trip to the Inland Empire Classic with two more wins on Sunday, defeating Redlands, 12-8, in early morning action, then dispatching Pomona-Pitzer, 18-15, in an afternoon thriller.
 
No. 12 UC SANTA BARBARA 12, REDLANDS 8
The Gauchos led from tape to tape in their opening game of the day, with goals from Dom Brown, Adam Gyenis and Brock Zamanian giving Santa Barbara a 3-0 edge inside the first three minutes. The Bulldogs clawed back to within a goal later in the first quarter, but that would be as close as they'd get.
 
Luke Bachler scored before the horn to re-extend the lead to two, then Danilo Dragovic tallied the first goal of the second period to keep stretching the advantage. Bachler would complete his hat-trick by the third quarter, bookending a 5-0 Gaucho run that included a pair of scores by Landon Lassahn and another from Gyenis.
 
Gyenis completed his hat-trick in turn in the fourth quarter, and Finn Genc fired home a five-meter penalty later in the frame for Santa Barbara's 12^th goal of the game. That would be enough insurance for the Gauchos to be unaffected by a late 3-0 Redlands scoring run.
 
No. 12 UC SANTA BARBARA 18, POMONA-PITZER 15
It took some heroics, namely from Zamanian in the attack and Levi Lentin in goal, for the Gauchos to fend off the Sagehens, as Pomona-Pitzer led 5-3 after the first quarter. Zamanian tallied a hat-trick in the second quarter alone to help Santa Barbara take the lead, with Brown and Bachler adding a goal each in the frame. Lentin locked down the Sagehens at the other end, holding them to just one goal in the second quarter and giving the Gauchos an 8-6 lead at halftime.
 
Santa Barbara would never relinquish that lead, and they put together a 5-0 run in the third quarter to take control of the match. Lassahn, Zamanian, Dragovic, Sam McKenzie and Brown scored in that order on the six-minute scoring run, and the Gauchos led, 13-9, after the third.
 
Santa Barbara tallied five goals again in the fourth quarter, with Nico Furneaux, Gyenis and Dragovic scoring. Zamanian added his fifth goal of the game as well, and Levi Lentin iced the game with a goal spanning the length of the pool with 12 seconds left on the clock. It is the first goal of the Gaucho goalie's career. He was strong in the cage all game long too, making a season-high 12 saves.
 
UP NEXT
The Gauchos return to action just down the coast at No. 4 Pepperdine on Thursday, Sept. 19, where they will take on Westcliff at 12 noon before facing the Waves at 5 p.m. From there, Santa Barbara will head into Los Angeles for the first of two Big West-WCC Clash tournaments, Sept. 20 and 21.