THOUSAND OAKS- This festive holiday break, UC Santa Cruz traveled down south to sunny SoCal to go head on with the Cal Lutheran Kingsmen. In the beginning of the game, the Banana Slugs trailed the Kingsmen by 3 points 18-15. Zino Okah luckily made a 3 point shot tying the game 18-18 with 12:20 left. The Banana Slugs began pushing the pace. The Kingsmen quickly responded however with a shot made by Zev Reemer 20- 18. The Banana Slugs did not let that slide, with Treyson Keating's layup tying the game once again 20-20 . Zev Reemer once again scored a 3-point shot for the Kingsmen 23- 20. The last 5 minutes of the 1st half the Banana Slugs fought back, and the end of the 1st half was 36-33 with a Banana Slug lead.
The Banana Slugs took the lead in this contest with a layup made by Tyler Kessinger in the beginning of the 2nd half 38-33. Okah struck again with another 3-point jumpshot in the second half for a lead of 43- 36 with 15:59 left. But the Kingsmen quickly responded with a 3-point shot by Brock Susko 43-39. The Kingsmen kept on fighting to take the lead but the Banana Slugs defense did not let that happen. There were back-and-forth steals and turnovers from both teams creating an intense game. The Kingsmen retaliated against the Banana Slugs, catching up to the lead with 52-51 with 7 minutes left in the half. The Kingsmen took the lead but the Banana Slugs were close behind them 56-58. With under 5 seconds left the Banana Slugs were able to tie with free throws made by Avri Finch 63-63. A Kingsmen miss at the buzzer meant five more minutes.
            Luckily with the start of overtime, the Banana Slugs had one more shot to take the ballgame. Okah put the Banana Slugs ahead with a 65-63 layup, followed by a 3-point shot made by Eric DeBrine which made it 70-65. This was an intense game, but the Banana Slugs will be celebrating a win this holiday season with a final of 81-73.
Finch finished with 24 points and ten rebounds to lead the team. Okah had 20 points and nine rebounds, while Kessinger scored 16 and DeBrine added 13.
The Banana Slugs (7-4) finish the roadtrip on Tuesday afternoon at old rivals Chapman.