#13 Ajay Mitchell probes the Cal Lutheran defense. | Credit: Victor Bryant

A strong second-half performance boosted the UCSB men’s basketball team to an 87-66 victory over Cal Lutheran on Sunday afternoon at the Thunderdome.

The victory marks the end of a five-game homestand in which UCSB compiled a 4-1 record. 

12 Gauchos entered the scoring column led by Amadou Sow, who finished with 17 points and eight rebounds. In addition, freshman guard Cole Anderson scored a career-high 14 points off the bench. 

UCSB struggled with outside shooting, converting just 5-of-23 attempts from three-point range, but more than made up for it by out rebounding Cal Lutheran 51-23.

Cal Lutheran (7-1) is a division 3 team, but hung tough early and only trailed 37-34 at halftime on the strength of scrappy defense and hot shooting from three-point range, but with a significant size differential at every position favoring the Gauchos the final outcome was never in doubt.

“That was a great experience for us. We played a really tough league game yesterday and got it handed to us,” said Cal Lutheran coach Russell White. “The focus was to come out here and enjoy the experience.”

Next up for UCSB (5-2) is a non-conference contest at Saint Mary’s on Saturday, December 11 beginning at 3 p.m.


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