Seventeenth-ranked San Diego State had too many weapons for UCSB and rolled to an 84-70 win over the Gauchos on Thursday night.
Chase Tapley led five Aztecs in double figures with 23 points, making 6 of 8 from the 3-point line. Jamaal Franklin scored 14 points, JJ O’Brien had 12, Xavier Thames chipped in 11 and James Rahon and 10, as the Aztecs won their seventh straight game and eighth in a row against UCSB.
“That is a very, very good basketball team,” said UCSB head coach Bob Williams of the Aztecs. “They can beat you in so many ways, on both ends of the court. We saw tonight what they are capable of from the outside when they really crank it up.”
Kyle Boswell knocked down seven of 10 3 pointers en route to a career-high 23 points to lead the Gauchos (3-5). Alan Williams scored 18 points and Taran Brown added 16.
“Kyle was really feeling it tonight,” Williams said. “Some of the shots he made were from really, really deep. We’ve always known what he was capable of and tonight wasn’t surprising.”
The Gauchos’ only lead in the game was at 5-4. They then went five minutes without scoring and San Diego State took an 18-5 advantage.
San Diego State led 46-29 at halftime.
The Aztecs’ biggest lead was 27 points, 64-37, with 15:10 left in the second half.
The next time UCSB and San Diego State meet it will be in Big West Conference play. The Aztecs will join the conference for the 2013-14 season.
