Box Score The Chicago State men's basketball team dropped the first game of their two-game California road trip, losing to the University of California Santa Barbara 81-50 Saturday afternoon at The Thunderdome in Santa Barbara.
A decisive 16-0 UCSB run at the outset of the game and cold shooting throughout, left the Cougars playing catch up for the duration of the game.
Chicago State scored the first points of the contest, a three pointer from
Kedrick Green, before the 16-0 Gauchos run. CSU converted just nine of 32 first half field-goal attempts (28.1 percent), including 2-of-11 from beyond the three-point arc (18.2). Overall, the numbers remained the same, hitting 18-of-83 shots overall (28.6) and 6-of-25 from beyond the three-point arc (24.0).
As he did in the first three games,
Brandon Betson led the Cougars in scoring, converting 4-of-12 field goals (33.3), including 1-6 from three (16.7) for 11 points.
Coreyoun Rushin led the team in rebounds for the third time this season, with seven
Rushin stopped the initial run with a driving layup and UCSB led 16-5 with 13:12 remaining in the first half. UCSB responded with a 6-0 run to go up 17 points leading to a timeout. Out of the break, J.J. Harris hit a jumper before another UCSB run of five points and the Gauchos led 22-7 near the midway mark of the first half.
Following a pair of UCSB free throws, Betson scored his first points of the game, converting on consecutive possessions and a Rushin layup made for a modest 6-0 Cougars run and cut the lead to 14, 27-13, with 6:51 remaining in the half.
The Gauchos again countered with a run of its own, 6-0 and, following a
Teddy Bayi Ba Mandeng layup, UCSB hit a three-point field goal for their largest lead of the game, 21 points, 36-15.
Bayi Ba Mandeng scored again, kicking off a modest 7-2 run to end the half as
Bryce Johnson got into the act with a three and Betson ended the first 20 minutes with a pair of free throws with no timing remaining on the clock. The teams went into the locker room at halftime with the Gauchos in command, 38-22.
The teams exchanged baskets at the start of the second half before UCSB quietly went on an 11-2 run to extend the lead to 26, and the game would remain in that range for the remainder of the contest.
Next up for the Cougars will be the second half of its two-game California road trip, traveling to Stockton, California to face Pacific at the Alex G. Spanos Center on Monday, November 22 at 9 p.m. The Tigers enter the contest with a 2-3 record and are 1-1 at home.
About Chicago State
Chicago State University Athletics is comprised of 15 intercollegiate teams involving over 150 student-athletes that compete in basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and volleyball. CSU held memberships in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and NCAA Division II before transitioning to NCAA Division I in 1994. Melvin Bland was the first CSU student-athlete to gain NAIA All-American status in 1974 as a wrestler. Fred Evans became the first black swimmer ever to win a national championship in 1975. CSU's women's basketball team earned a spot in the 2011 Women's Basketball Invitational and CSU's men's basketball team won the 2013 Great West Conference Tournament title and made an appearance in the CollegeInside.com Postseason Tournament (CIT). The Men's Outdoor Track & Field 4x100-Meter Relay team were 2019 Honorable Mention All-Americans and WAC Champions. Their feat marked the first time the Chicago State's men's track & field program was represented at the national meet.
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