UC Santa Brabara 75, SJ State 67
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (THUNDER DOME)- Alex Harris scored 25 points to lead UC Santa Barbara to a victory over your San Jose State Spartans in the season opener for both teams at the Thunder Dome.
UCSB was down 60-55 with only five minutes remaining, but a freshman named James Powell made a trifecta which led to an 11-2 run.
San Jose would make it interesting when Pierce hit a long three-pointer from above the key to pull his team to within four, 71-67, with 25 seconds left, but Powell, and forward Ivan Elliott each made a pair of free throws in the waning seconds to carry UCSB to its final margin, 75-67.
Tim Pierce scored 13 of his team leading 18 points in the first half, and the Spartans actually led 37-31 at the break.
The Spartans had built up a lead by as many as 12 points at one point in the contest, but it was all for naught.
“UCSB's Alex Harris made some big shots for. He hit some threes under pressure to keep the them in the game,” added the San Jose State head coach about the Gaucho 6-foot-6 guard who was 5-of-9 from three-point range.
“We settled down the last 10 minutes of the game and made it more difficult for them. We were very fortunate to be within six at halftime,” said UC Santa Barbara coach Bob Williams.
SJSU freshman, Darion Goins, had 16 points and 7 rebounds and Lance Halloway had 9 rebounds.
“We came down here to win. We had a chance to win the game. We were in charge of the game. When you control the game for 36 minutes, you should win the game,” said San Jose State coach George Nessman.
San Jose State returns to action, Tuesday, November 14th, when it faces Stanford in the first-round of the CBE Classic at maples Pavilion.
Game time is at 8:00PM and ESPN-U will televise the game. Check your cable or satellite carrier for listings.
Onward....