The UCSB men’s basketball team (2-1) bounced back to capture its second win of the year defeating Chicago State (0-5) 81-50 at home in the first game of the Cerebro Sports Cali Jam.
UCSB’s strong first-half performance put the Gauchos in the driver’s seat early with the Cougars unable to find their footing.
Senior forward Amadou Sow led the team in points with 13, and four other Gaucho players scored double digits as well.
Graduate forward Robinson Idehen made the Gaucho defensive presence known, leading the team in blocks with five.
Calvin Wishart saw 12 points, three assists, three rebounds, and three steals while shooting 4-for-5 with a pair of triples.
After allowing the opening three to Chicago State, the Gauchos answered with a pair of buckets and led the rest of the game.
As Chicago State struggled from the field shooting just 18-for-63 (28.6%), the Gauchos shot 26-for-48 (54.2%) from the field, dominating on the offensive side of the ball.
UCSB also made a living at the free throw line, making 21-of-27.
The Gauchos started off electric, making seven of their first 13 field goals of the game to take an early 24-7 lead, with their largest run being a 16-0 run.
Later in the half, Chicago State’s offense became more efficient as they outscored the Gauchos 15-14 to end the half.
Despite having eight more field goal attempts than the Gauchos in the first half, Chicago State struggled early as they shot 9-of-32 from the field (28.1%) including 2-of-11 (18.2%) from three-point range while committing eight turnovers.
The Gauchos ended the half shooting 12-of-24 (50%) from the field with Ajare Sanni leading the way with eight points.
Daniel Moebus-Bowles works in communications/media relations at UCSB.
sports@newspress.com
