PORTLAND, Ore. – James Nunnally scored 22 points and had a career-high 11 rebounds, and Orlando Johnson added 18 points, but it wasn’t enough as UCSB couldn’t overcome a big deficit in a 75-63 loss at the University of Portland on Saturday night.
Portland (5-2) took advantage of 16 first half turnovers by the Gauchos (2-3) to take a 37-15 halftime lead. The Pilots, who made 8-of-16 three-point attempts in the first half and 12-of-24 in the game, pushed the lead to 46-21 with 16:10 remaining.
The advantage was still 56-33 with 10:37 to play but an 18-4 run by the Gauchos, highlighted by a pair of Nunnally three-point plays and capped by a three-pointer from freshman Kyle Boswell, pulled UCSB within 60-51 with 5:18 remaining.
Portland responded with a 10-2 surge of its own to reclaim an insurmountable 70-53 lead with just more than three minutes to go in the game. The Gauchos closed the game on a 10-5 run, but it was too late.
“I was extremely disappointed in our first half,” said UCSB head coach Bob Williams. “It was like we came out and didn’t believe we had anything to prove. We just didn’t have good energy. Give (Portland) credit. They came out with a chip on their shoulder, were very physical and just took it to us.”
In addition to its 16 turnovers, Santa Barbara made just 6-of-17 field goals in the first half and didn’t attempt a free throw.
“We were better in the second half,” Williams said. “We came out with good energy and the numbers prove that. We protected the ball better, went to the glass harder and shot 12 free throws.”
The Gauchos had just two turnovers after halftime. They also had six offensive rebounds in the second half and made 12-of-12 from the free throw line.
UCSB also battled foul trouble in the decisive first half. Jaimé Serna, who finished with eight points in 12 minutes, picked-up a pair of fouls in the first 3:54 of the game and sat out the remainder of the first half. Johnson also had two fouls and wound up playing just 11 minutes in the first half.
Portland’s Jared Stohl entered the game shooting 49-percent from three-point range and did nothing to hurt his percentage on Saturday night. Stohl made 6-of-9 attempts from beyond the three-point arc and finished with a game-high 26 points. Luke Sikma added 12 points and a game-high 13 rebounds for the Pilots.
Johnson collected four assists and two blocked shots for the Gauchos. Nunnally had three assists and Greg Somogyi made all three of his shots while scoring six points, collecting four rebounds and blocking a season-high five shots.
UCSB will return home on Wednesday, Dec. 1 to host Loyola Marymount
