LOS ANGELES, Ca. – The UC Santa Cruz men's basketball team squared off with University of Southern California for the first time in program history, battling hard from beginning to end while falling 102-63 in a rare NCAA Division I versus NCAA Division III contest. While not uncommon to see Division III teams face off in the preseason against Division I teams, regular season contests against Division I opponents are almost unheard of. With all eyes on the Banana Slugs and Trojans, UC Santa Cruz got right to work with nothing to lose. The Banana Slugs shot 52.0% from downtown with 13 threes while USC connected on just 3-15 shots from deep. Aidan Carleson led UCSC with 13 points and three steals against the Trojans with Thomas Conley adding 11 points, two rebounds, and a block. The Banana Slugs performed exceptionally well with the odds stacked against them, working to a 15-14 first half lead behind strong defensive play and stellar shooting from beyond the three point arc. The Slugs first five buckets all came from downtown, highlighting the team's stellar night from distance. UC Santa Cruz will be back in action on Dec. 27 when they travel to Tacoma, Washington to take on Puget Sound at 4:00pm.
 
Game of the Decade
In an unprecedented match up, the Banana Slugs and Trojans took the court in the Galen Center for the program's first meeting in a rare NCAA Division I versus NCAA Division III match up. Elijah Brookes recorded a steal just 29 seconds into the contest giving UCSC the chance to score the game's first basket, but USC ultimately got on the scoreboard first after over two minutes of scoreless play. USC scored with two free throws and a layup to take the 4-0 lead before Ben Lim hit UCSC's first three pointer of the game. The Trojans used a 42 second 4-0 run to extend their lead to 8-3 but the Banana Slugs rallied back with a 12-6 run, going 4-5 from three to take the lead at 15-14. The run lasted just over four minutes and saw buckets from Leo Wagner, Aidan Carleson, Thomas Conley, and Hunter Kennedy. The contest remained tight with Thomas Conley hitting a three to bring USC's 5-0 run to an end, cutting the lead to 19-18 with 8:15 remaining in the first half. The Trojans were able to pick up steam and pull away as they closed out the first half on a 26-8 run to go up 45-26 heading into halftime.
 
The Trojans struck first out of the halftime break with UCSC going shot for shot as they narrowly outscored USC 7-6 in a two minute and seven second stretch. USC surged forward with a 10-3 run to extend their lead to 63-36. The Banana Slugs continued to weather the storm as the Trojans pushed the gap to 79-43 with 9:08 remaining in the contest. UC Santa Cruz saw Aidan Carleson make strong contributions down the stretch with seven points while Darren Naruse added five. Jaden Gamez, Thomas Conley, and Teni Salako added four points, three points, and one point, respectively as USC closed out the contest with a 23-20 advantage to defeat UC Santa Cruz 102-63.