The UCSB Men’s basketball team has yet to solve the UC Davis puzzle this season as the visiting Aggies withstood the Gauchos second half surge to claim a 79-69 victory on Thursday night at the Thunderdome.
Ajay Mitchell and Yohan Traore scored 25 and 20 points respectively, but the Gauchos struggled defensively, especially in the first half and could never wrestle away control of the game from the Aggies.
“Credit to {UC Davis} they are a really good team, but we had ten turnovers in the first half and that really destroyed us,” said UCSB coach Joe Pasternack. “I thought we played them evenly in the second half, but unfortunately, it’s a two-half game. You must defend for 40 minutes, and you must take care of the basketball and rebound.”
The game was tight early as Traore consistently found room to work in the interior to keep the Gauchos close. A layup by Ariel Bland off an assist by Traore cut the UCSB deficit to 26-23 at the 9:58 mark of the first half.
However, the Big West’s leading scorer, Elijah Pepper, ripped off seven quick points, including two three-pointers in a one-minute span that increased the Aggies’ lead to 33-23 with 8:15 remaining in the first half.
“He had a great first half, especially, he hit some really tough shots,” Pasternack said. “We were on him, but he’s a great player.”
A Ty Johnson three-pointer increased the UC Davis lead to 44-35 with 50 seconds remaining in the first half and the Aggies took a 46-37 lead into the locker room at halftime.
UC Davis opened the second half on a 10-3 run capped off by a three-pointer by Millings Kane three-pointer that increased the lead to 56-39 with 17:42 remaining in the game.
From there, the Gauchos battled back. Three straight baskets by Mitchell cut the UCSB deficit to 58-47 with 15:21 to play.
UCSB eventually cut its deficit to 72-69 on a jumper by Mitchell with 2:10 to play.
In the ensuing UC Davis possession, Ty Johnson knocked down 1-of-2 free throws to put the Aggies ahead 73-69. UCSB’s Ben Shtolzberg got a decent look at a three-pointer on the other end of the court, but it didn’t fall.
The Gauchos (12-8 overall, 5-5 Big West) started playing the foul game with 1:27 remaining on the clock, but UC Davis went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line down the stretch and UCSB never scored again.
“I’m just worried about our process and getting better every single day. We’ll keep honoring the process. We’ve got a lot of basketball to play; we’re just halfway through conference play,” Pasternack said. “We are getting better.”
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