In a battle for second place in the Big West, Cal Poly (8-11, 5-3 Big West) ended its three-game win streak with a 80-57 loss to UC Santa Barbara (11-7, 6-2) in front of 3,066 fans Thursday night.
With the loss, Cal Poly falls to third place in the Big West and UC Santa Barbara takes sole possession of second. Pacific sits at first.
The Mustangs could sustain the Gaucho’s pressure, turning the ball over 21 times.
James Nunnally led UCSB with 20 points. Orlando Johnson added 18 points and Jaime Serna had 12.
Lorenzo Keeler put up his own 20-point performance with 19 coming in the second half.
Sophomore David Hanson scored nine points with Justin Brown and Kyle Odister each scoring seven.
UC Santa Barbara hit 27 of 52 shots from the floor and connected on eight of 22 from long range while Cal Poly shot 35 percent from the floor and 26 percent from beyond the arch.
UC Santa Barbara opened a 17-7 lead in the first seven minutes of the game, but Cal Poly closed the gap to four on a Kyle Odister three with 11:44 left in the half.
Nunnally responded with back-to-back to stretch the lead to 24-14 with 6:50 left in the half.
The Gauchos didn’t stop.
UC Santa Barbara went to the break with a 38-18 lead. In the first half,The Mustangs shot just 32 percent and turned the ball over 13 times. The Gauchos hit 52 percent from the floor and made six of 15 from long range while committing six turnovers.
The second was no different as the the Gauchos continued with the hot hand. They outscored the Mustangs 11-6 over the first four minutes of the second half and with just under 12 minutes to play, UCSB had opened up a 32 point lead, 57-25.
UCSB led by as many as 35 midway through the second half and the Mustangs would get no closer then 23 down the stretch.
The Mustangs return to action on Saturday, Jan. 30, when the team will host Cal State Bakersfield in a non-conference matchup at 7 pm.