DAVIS – Chris Devine scored a season-high 27 points and Greg Somogyi added a career-high 14, but UC Santa Barbara couldn’t stop a sizzling UC Davis team, losing 89-75 on the road Thursday.
The Aggies (9-10 overall, 4-2 in the Big West), who have now won three conference games in a row for the first time, shot 56.7% overall for the contest, including a 52.4% from three-point range. They broke open a close game, outscoring the Gauchos (8-10 overall, 2-4 in the Big West) 28-15 in the final 11:03. Guard Vince Oliver led the Davis attack with 21 points, and five of his teammates were in double-figures. Overall, they made 11-of-21 shots from three-point range with five different players connecting and three making a trio of shots.
“When they (Davis) got it going offensively they were very impressive,” said UCSB head coach Bob Williams. “I think that is probably the best offensive team in our conference. They have a lot of guys who can shoot the three and that makes them very dangerous.”
UCSB scored a season-high 56 points in the paint. Devine made 13-of-19 shots from the field while Somogyi hit 6-of-8. Jaimé Serna also added a career-high nine points in just 14 minutes.
But while the Aggies were firing on all cylinders from the perimeter, the Gauchos struggled, making a season-low one three-point basket. Guard Jordan Weiner made their sole three-pointer midway through the second half. As a team UCSB was 1-for-9 from three-point range. Overall, UCSB shot a solid 50.0%, including 56.1% from inside the three-point line.
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Santa Barbara trailed almost the entire game, leading just once in the first half at 2-0 on a lay-up by Serna to open the game, and then at 54-53 on a lay-up by James Nunnallywith 15:10 to play, otherwise it was an uphill battle.
On a positive note, UCSB had just five turnovers in the game, by far its season-low.
The Gauchos remain on the road for one more, traveling to Pacific on Saturday for a 7:00 p.m. game that will be televised by ESPNU.
