SANTA CRUZ, Ca. – The UC Santa Cruz men's basketball team improved to 5-4 on the year, winning their fourth straight contest with a 95-85 victory over the Lewis and Clark River Otters. Joseph Espy led the team with 24 points and six rebounds while Leo Wagner added 20 points with Caden Breznikar recording a double double with 19 points and 15 boards. The Banana Slugs 53.7% from the field and 38.1% from downtown for their second straight victory with over 95 points scored. UC Santa Cruz will travel to Southern California for their next three games, taking on Whittier on Dec. 14 at 1pm before playing Chapman (Dec. 15) and Pomona-Pitzer (Dec. 17).
 
How It Happened
The first half was a close battle with L&C take an early 7-2 lead before working to a six point advantage at 12-6. Caden Breznikar and Leo Wagner combined for a 6-0 run to tie the game at 12-12 but the River Otters hit a three to regain the lead, working to a narrow 17-16 advantage shortly after. A Thomas Conley three put the Banana Slugs back on top with Leo Wagner and Hunter Kennedy both adding buckets down the stretch to put UCSC out in front by five at 29-24 with 3:20 left in the half. The River Otters rallied back, using a 11-7 run to cut the lead to 36-35 heading into the halftime break.
 
Out of the break, the Banana Slugs went on a 6-0 run with points from Ben Lim, Caden Breznikar, and Joseph Espy. The Slugs continued to increase their lead as Miles Burrows knocked down a three to put UCSC up by eight at 47-39. A quick 5-0 run cut the lead to 47-44 but the Slugs answered right back with a 7-0 run highlighted by a shot from downtown from Hunter Kennedy. UC Santa Cruz was comfortably in charge for much of the half, working to as much as a 15 point lead on four separate occasions but the River Otters tried to mount a comeback with just over four minutes left in the contest. Their surge started with a three pointer to spark a 9-0 run, cutting the deficit to 78-72 with 3:18 remaining. The Banana Slugs quickly countered to increase their lead to 12 points at 88-76 but a 7-1 run narrowed the gap to six points once again, this time with 31 seconds left. From there, UCSC was steady at the free throw line as they outpaced L&C to take the 95-85 victory despite the late pressure from the River Otters.