Alan Williams became the first UCSB men’s basketball player to amass 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in a career on Thursday night, but the Gauchos fell to visiting Cal State Northridge 74-63 in a Big West Conference game.
In 102 games as a Gaucho, Williams has averaged 15.3 points and 9.85 rebounds per game. The UCSB senior is the fifth player in Big West Conference history to accomplish the 1,000-1,000 double. He’s already UCSB’s career leader in rebounding and is tied with UNLV’s Stacey Augmon for third all-time in the conference.
Williams was a game-time decision because of illness on Thursday. Playing at less than 100 percent, Williams totaled a season-low five points, adding seven rebounds.
The video above includes several game highlights and intense loose-ball battles displayed in slow motion. Clips feature Williams, Gabe Vincent and a blocked shot by Northridge’s Stephan Hicks.
The Matadors scorched the nets in every category on their way to victory. The team was 23-41 from the field, including 7-of-10 from 3-point range. Northridge was even better at the free throw line with a 21-22 performance.
“Give them credit, they shot the ball really well tonight,” said UCSB head coach Bob Williams. “They are a very good team inside so we went with a zone and they made their shots. When you play a zone you want to make a team beat you from the outside and that’s what they did.”
Devonte Elliott led the Matadors with 23 points and 12 rebounds.
“Devonte was really big tonight. When you look at the fact that we made seven 3-pointers, for us that’s phenomenal,” said Northridge head coach Reggie Theus.
Vincent led UCSB with 15 points while Zalmico Harmon finished with 11 points and six assists.
The two teams will face each other again in Northridge on Valentine’s Day in their second meeting of the conference season.
The Gauchos play next at Long Beach State on Saturday at 4 p.m.
