Lauren RabainoAlthough the stands in Mott Gym were packed with Cal Poly supporters wearing green, yellow and painted faces, the Mustangs were unable to pull out a win before 2,755 spectators Saturday evening in a 72-62 Big West Conference defeat to rival UC Santa Barbara.
The Mustangs played strong early, leading for the first 12 minutes until a layup by Gauchos senior guard D.J. Posley gave them their first lead at 21-20. There were a total of four ties and three lead changes before Santa Barbara took the lead for good.
Cal Poly (3-12, 0-5 Big West Conference) played more defensively, compared to last Saturday’s 80-63 loss to UC Irvine.
“I thought defensively they were more locked in and played with more energy,” said Mustangs head coach Kevin Bromley. “I thought there was a much improved effort tonight.”
Cal Poly’s high scorers of the game were sophomore guard Shawn Lewis with 16 points, junior guard Lorenzo Keeler with 13 and senior guard Chaz Thomas with 13.
Santa Barbara’s Posley had a game high 17 points and seven rebounds, while teammate sophomore guard Jordan Weiner had 14.
The Gauchos (8-9, 2-3) made 44.6 percent of their floor shots to Cal Poly’s 38.2 percent, which included six 3-pointers for UCSB and seven for Cal Poly.
The Mustangs outrebounded the Gauchos 38-37 with help from Lewis’ nine rebounds and sophomore forward Wes Dipprey’s eight.
The second half was interrupted after 7-foot-2 freshman center Greg Somogyi’s dunk in the 12th minute led to two ejections. Somogyi earned a technical foul while teammate freshman forward Jaime Serna and Cal Poly’s Thomas were ejected after a confrontation following the play. None of the players were hurt.
“I personally like the emotions,” said Bromley. “Emotion is a strong thing, if you can direct it. If you have good emotion and you can direct it and altogether direct it, it can be very powerful.”
Cal Poly welcomed back senior forward John Manley in Saturday’s game after suffering a recurring back injury that has had him out since October. This was his first game all year and he is currently pain-free.
“I felt really good tonight. Obviously, all I want to do is win, so it’s bittersweet to be able to come back, feel good and then lose,” said Manley. “We weren’t consistent, but we played well at times. It’s something to build on, I think.
Manley said that he sees several ways to contribute to the Mustangs following his extended absence.
“I think where I could really help out is to be an offensive threat,” he added.
Cal Poly will travel to Stockton to face Pacific at 7 p.m. Thursday.