SANTA CRUZ, Calif. – Lewis & Clark College men's basketball dropped a 76-67 decision to UC Santa Cruz Sunday afternoon despite a strong second-half effort and four players scoring double figures.
THE BASICS
UC Santa Cruz 76, Lewis & Clark 67
(Lewis & Clark 2-1)
(UC Santa Cruz 3-2)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Senior
Sam Henderson led the Pioneers with 17 points, while junior
Kody Uyesugi added 15 points, including three 3-pointers. Senior
Mikey Medlock Jr. and junior
Andre Treadwell each contributed 11 points in a balanced scoring effort.
The Banana Slugs established control early, building a 14-7 lead before the first media timeout. UCSC's Joe Espy, who finished with a game-high 23 points, scored six in the opening four minutes. Treadwell cut the lead to 14-9 with a second-chance layup, but UC Santa Cruz responded with a 9-0 run over the next 2:18.
Uyesugi hit consecutive 3-pointers to pull within 25-15 midway through the first half. Senior
Nate Berg, who finished with three points and five steals, made a layup at 7:07 to end a three-minute scoring drought. Though UCSC went nearly seven and a half minutes without a field goal, they maintained their double-digit lead by making eight of nine free throws. Zino Okah, who scored 20 points, extended the lead to 37-24 with a 3-pointer at 3:28.
The Pioneers trailed 44-33 at halftime after junior
Taien Jackson found senior
Khalil Glover-Dodson for a late basket.
Lewis & Clark fell behind 55-37 to start the second half as UC Santa Cruz went on an 11-4 run in the first six minutes. After facing their largest deficit in the game (61-41), the Pioneers went on a 15-4 run behind the offensive play of Medlock Jr, who scored seven of his 11 points in three minutes.
The Pioneers couldn't complete the comeback despite outscoring UC Santa Cruz 34-32 in the second half and hitting two late 3-pointers from Henderson and Uyesugi.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Medlock Jr. scored all 11 of his points in the second half.
- Lewis & Clark scored 20 points off 21 UC Santa Cruz turnovers.
- Henderson leads the Pioneers this season, averaging 15.3 points per game.
- The Pioneers' bench outscored UC Santa Cruz's reserves 44-14.
WHO'S NEXT
Lewis & Clark hosts Portland Bible College on Thursday at 6 p.m. in Pamplin Sports Center, marking their first home game of the season.
