UC Santa Barbara Continues Dominance of Rival Cal Poly With 83-75 Victory

Ajay Mitchell and Yohan Traore combined for 41 points as the UC Santa Barbara men’s basketball team defeated rival Cal Poly 83-75 to extend its winning streak in the Blue-Green Rivalry to 14 games.

The last time Cal Poly defeated UC Santa Barbara in men’s basketball was on January 4, 2018. Before that victory, the Mustangs have not beaten the Gauchos since the 2014 Big West tournament as UC Santa Barbara has claimed 20 of the last 21 matchups.

“For us it’s just another game. All we are worried about is can we just keep getting better,” said UC Santa Barbara coach Joe Pasternak. “Beating Cal Poly counts as one win. Beating any team counts as one win.”

The Gauchos got off to a strong start and took a 19-9 lead on an offensive rebound and put-back by Ariel Bland with 11:09 remaining in the first quarter. Rebounding has been a major indicator of success this season. 

“When we rebound and out rebound teams we win the game,” Pasternck said. “That’s what we have to continue to do.”

Cal Poly clawed back into the game behind hot shooting from behind the three-point arch. The Mustangs shot 5-for-12 from three-point range in the first half. In comparison, UC Santa Barbara shot 1-for-3.

A three-pointer by Cal Poly’s Quentin Jones tied the score at 28-28 with 4:27 remaining in the first half, but UCSB was able to regain control, closing the first half on a 7-2 run to take a 37-34 lead into the locker room.

Mitchell drained a key three-pointer during the late first half run that gave the Gauchos a 35-34 lead with 1:10 remaining.  He finished with a team-high 22 points.

In the second half, UC Santa Barbara briefly trailed 40-39 after a three-pointer by Kobe Sanders with 17:22 remaining, but responded with a 13-2 run capped off by a Traore jumper with 11:19 remaining in the game.

Traore shot 7-for-8 from the field and 5-for-5 from the free-throw line for the game to finish with 19 points. 

“Every time I step onto the court I’m just trying to stay confident and play aggressive,” Traore said. “I just know that my teammates are going to find me.”

Cal Poly cut its deficit to 52-47 with 9:03 remaining on a three-pointer by Jarred Hyder, but never came any closer. A three-pointer by Cole Anderson with 4:51 remaining gave the Gauchos a 69-56 lead.

The Mustangs did an excellent job extending the game late by fouling, but UC Santa Barbara made enough free-throws down the stretch to secure the victory.

With the win the Gauchos improve to 15-12 overall and 8-9 in Big West Conference play. They will travel to Cal State Fullerton on Saturday for a 6 p.m. tip off.