CSUN Falls to UCSB, 61-74

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Santa Barbara, CA – The CSUN Matadors (7-13, 2-4 BWC) fell to the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos (8-10, 2-3 BWC) on Saturday afternoon in The Thunderdome, 61-74.The Matadors won the first half, but a string of unanswered points by the Gauchos to start the second half powered UCSB through the end of the game.

Junior Kendall Smith led the Matadors with 20 points, with sophomore Jerron Wilbut adding 11 off the bench and sophomore Micheal Warren scoring 10. Senior Tre Hale-Edmerson had nine rebounds and five assists.

"We just couldn't get over the hump," said Head Coach Reggie Theus. "The Achilles heel for us right now is that they beat us on the boards soundly. The second chance points were not that bad, but the points off turnovers were the key tonight."

Warren started the game off with a 3-pointer for the Matadors, and hit another a few minutes later to put CSUN up to start the evening. The game stayed close until about 10 minutes in, with Santa Barbara pulling ahead by as much as 10 until the Matadors evened the score with about four minutes to play. Two free throws by sophomore Tavrion Dawson, a 3 by Smith and a layup by sophomore Jerron Wilbut tied the game at 29 and then CSUN stayed slightly ahead for the remaining minutes, going to the locker room up by one, 32-31.

The Gauchos came into the second half energized, scoring 14 unanswered points until a free throw and then a layup by Smith got the Matadors on the board. The Gauchos maintained a lead around the 10-point range for the rest of the game, despite several comeback attempts by the Matadors. At one point, CSUN was within five after two free throws by Smith but UCSB pulled ahead again.

CSUN shot a consistent 41 percent to UCSB's 47 and only made nine of 17 at the free throw line. The Gauchos also beat the Matadors in the paint, 34 points to 14, and had 40 rebounds to the Matadors' 28. Second-chance points (CSUN 0, UCSB 6) and points off turnovers (CSUN 5, UCSB 18) were kept small on both sides.

WIth tonight's game, Hale-Edmerson moves up another spot on the all-time CSUN games played list and now sits at number five.

The Gauchos were led by guard Micheal Bryson, guard Gabe Vincent and forward Sam Beeler, who scored 19, 16 and 12 points respectively. Bryson also had six rebounds and Vincent helped with five assists.

Next up, the Matadors return to The Matadome for a Wednesday night matchup against the UC Irvine Anteaters on January 27 at 7 p.m., CSUN Camo T night. CSUN then has the weekend off before traveling to UC Riverside and Long Beach State the following week.

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Team Stats

Kendall Smith

Jerron Wilbut

Micheal Warren

Tavrion Dawson

Players Mentioned

Tavrion Dawson

Tre Hale-Edmerson

Kendall Smith

Micheal Warren

Jerron Wilbut