SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The UC Santa Barbara Men's Basketball team (13-8, 5-5 Big West) returned to The Thunderdome Thursday night to take on the CSUN Matadors (14-7, 6-4 Big West). A tightly contested game ultimately resulted a loss for the Gauchos as they fell 78-71.

FROM HEAD COACH JOE PASTERNACK
"They (CSUN) were tougher and more physical than us tonight," said Pasternack. "We gave them 30 extra possessions with 16 offensive rebounds and 14 turnovers, but credit to them they are a really good team and probably the most athletic team in our league."

HOW IT HAPPENED
In the first half, UC Santa Barbara tied the score at 5-5 early on with a 3-pointer by Max Murrell at 17:31 and stayed competitive throughout the half. Jason Fontenet II contributed significantly with multiple 3-pointers, including a fast break trey, which helped keep the score close. Stephan Swenson added a 3-pointer late in the opening half to tie the game at 44. UC Santa Barbara trailed slightly at the end of the half with a score of 46-46 against the Matadors.

UC Santa Barbara started the second half with a surge, as Murrell hit consecutive 3-pointers at 18:01 and 16:10 to narrow the gap. Jason Fontenet II contributed heavily, assisting Murrell's 3-pointer and later scoring a three himself, which tied the game at 62. In the closing minutes, Stephan Swenson scored a layup at 2:05 and adding a free throw at 1:54 to briefly give UC Santa Barbara the lead, before Cal State Northridge pulled ahead and ultimately won 78-71.

LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS

• With four made three point shots tonight, Cole Anderson now qualifies for the national leaders in three point percentage. Going 4-of-8 tonight he now leads all of Division I in three point field goal percentage.
• The Gauchos recorded double digit assists for the seventh straight game tonight. Over the seven game stretch they have recorded 112 assists on 167 baskets, A 67 percent assist rate.
• The Gauchos grabbed just five offensive rebounds against CSUN, which tied their season-low from a game ago against Cal State Fullerton.

UP NEXT
The Gauchos will get ready to host The Beach on Saturday, Feb. 1. UC Santa Barbara and Long Beach State will tip off at 7 p.m. inside The Thunderdome. For those unable to make it in person the game can be streamed on ESPN+ with live stats available through ucsbgauchos.com/MBBLiveStats.