UC Santa Cruz Athletics
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Dallas
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Crusaders Defeat Banana Slugs in Season Opener
11/15/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
SANTA CRUZ, CA -- UC Santa Cruz began their 2014-2015 regular season schedule Saturday afternoon as they took on fellow NCAA Division III opponent University of Dallas. The Banana Slugs led for most of the contest but were overtaken by the Crusaders late in the second half and the Crusaders won 64-57.
The game started with the Crusaders on a 7-2 run which was capped off by a Blaine Blackburn three-pointer with 18:49 left in the first half. The Slugs would go on a 9-0 run of their own capped by a James Townsend jumper to make the score 11-7 with 15:45 left in the half. The two teams would trade the lead back and forth for a few clock minutes. The Crusaders would score on a three pointer by Michael Hampson to give them a 16-15 lead with 10:36 left in the half. The Banana Slugs would then go on a 10-0 run capped by an Ilan Zur layup to give the Banana Slugs a 25-16 lead with 8:05 left. The Crusaders would then outscore the Banana Slugs 15-8 over the remainder of the half as the Banana Slugs led at halftime 34-31.
In the second half, the Crusaders would continue to cut into the Slugs' lead and would take the lead themselves on an Aaron Wyatt jumper with 15:44 left, to give the Crusaders a 37-36 lead. The Slugs would take the lead back on the next possession, on an Andrew Jones' three pointer to give the Slugs a 39-37 lead with 15:29 left. The game, once again, went to a back and forth pace with neither team gaining more than a two point advantage. The Crusaders would gain the lead for good with 10:04 left after two Tom Kaiser free throws to give the Crusaders a 46-44 lead. The Banana Slugs would come as close as three, at 58-55, with 2:30 left in the game after a pair of Matthew Ponce free throws. The Crusaders would make six free throws down the stretch for the 64-57 victory.
Jared Ponce had a game high twenty one points for the Banana Slugs. Both Kaiser and Wyatt, off the bench, had fifteen points for the Crusaders. Kyle Creighton, making his UC Santa Cruz debut, scored ten points in the loss. Blake Blackburn and Michael Sarrat both had nine points for the Crusaders.
The Banana Slugs shot 38.3% (18-47) from the field, 35% (7-20) from the three point line and was 82.4% (14-17) from the free throw line. The Crusaders shot 41.2% (21-51) from the field, 44.4% (4-9) from the three point line and 78.3% (18-23) from the foul line. UC Santa Cruz's defense forced thirteen Crusader turnovers scoring sixteen points off the turnovers while the Crusaders' defense forced twenty-three turnovers by UC Santa Cruz scoring twenty two points off the turnovers. UC Santa Cruz outrebounded University of Dallas 34-30 but the Crusaders had twelve more points (20-8) off the bench than did the Banana Slugs.
The Slugs will play their next game at Kaiser Permanente Arena as they take on University of Redlands on Monday. Tipoff is set for 1 pm.
