PASADENA, Ca. – The UC Santa Cruz men's basketball team earned an 82-66 victory over the Caltech Beavers on Saturday evening. UCSC saw a double double out of Joseph Espy with 17 points and 11 boards while Thomas Conley and Caden Breznikar added 14 points and 13 points. The Banana Slugs are now 2-4 on the year and will be back in action on Monday at noon when they take on Willamette University on the campus of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps for a neutral site match up.
 
How It Happened
UC Santa Cruz shook off an early 6-2 deficit as Ben Lim and Joseph Espy got the Slugs going at the rim, then used a balanced stretch from Espy, Leo Wagner, Caden Breznikar, Aidan Carleson, and Thomas Conley to turn a tight game into a 38-33 halftime lead, highlighted by a Burrows three for a 33–-0 edge and a late Wagner layup to close the half.
 
The Slugs came out blazing after the break with Lim's three-point play pushing the margin to 41-33 and an Espy dunk making it 45-35. Conley caught fire from deep, capping a surge with a three for a 68-53 advantage, while Breznikar repeatedly scored inside to help stretch the lead to 78-58. Carleson added late free throws to make it 82-65 and an Elijah Brookes layup and steady contributions from Miles Burrows helped UC Santa Cruz comfortably finish off an 82-66 road win.