PORTLAND, OR-- Down by three at halftime, UC Santa Cruz found their scoring groove and roared back for an 81-72 win at Lewis and Clark.
The Banana Slugs go to 4-3 on the season.
The host Pioneers led 42-39 at halftime. The Banana Slugs opened the second half on a 7-0 run courtesy of a basket by
Tyler Kessinger and a pair from
Ian McCloskey to take a 46-42 lead. The Pioneers responded with an 11-0 run to make the lead to 53-46 with 12:54 left.
The Banana Slugs mounted a comeback, and
Ryan Wilson's free-throw with 7:14 left tied it at 60-all. After a flurry of rebound tips,
Joseph Espy gave UC Santa Cruz the lead for good 38 seconds later at 62-60. Consecutive layups by
Nelson Etuk and Espy made the score 66-60. With the Pioneers trying to rally with time running out, the Banana Slugs then went 10-14 on free-throws in the last three minutes to see out the victory.
Treyson Keating (14 points, 12 rebounds) had a double-double, and
Zino Okah (12 points, 9 rebounds) led UC Santa Cruz in scoring. Okah also had a team-high 7 assists. Kessinger added 11 points, while McCloskey and Wilson both scored 10. Overall, UC Santa Cruz had a 49-35 rebound advantage on the night. It was the most rebounds for the team this year. UC Santa Cruz finishes the weekend in Portland when they take on Pacific Lutheran on Sunday.
