LOS ANGELES -- Alex Harris knows it can be ugly sometimes on the road but he also think UC Santa Barbara showed what it takes to get it done away from home on Saturday night in a 63-56 victory over host Loyola Marymount.

Sure, Harris had 21 points to lead the Gauchos (7-1) to their best start since the 1992-93 season but even he knew the win had more to do with 24 LMU turnovers.

"It's all about playing with heart on the road," Harris said. "No flash. You win roadgames on the defensive end."

Continue reading "Learning The Elements Of A Road Victory" »

Posted by Bob Holtzman at 12:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LOS ANGELES -- Loyola Marymount guard Shawn Deadwiler and UC Santa Barbara guard Alex Harris have both found their scoring touch in the second half. Deadwiler has 20 points and Harris has 19 while UCSB lead 57-53 with under two minutes in the game.

Harris tried to take the scoring lead too but missed a shot and then fouled Jon Ziri going for the rebound. Ziri goes to the line for a 1-and-1 situation to cut the lead to two points and missed the front end, which ended a streak of 12 consecutive made free throws.

It looked like a crucial miss too when Harris scored again to give UCSB a six-point lead. But Ziri made up for it with an offensive rebound that led to a Deadwiler 3-pointer. UCSB leads 59-56 with under a minute to play.

Posted by Bob Holtzman at 11:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LOS ANGELES -- UC Santa Barbara and Loyola Marymount have played 83 times with the Lions holding a 48-35 advantage, including a 21-9 lead at home. But if the Gauchos can hold onto their lead it would be their first win at Gersten Pavilion since 1993 and first win over LMU since 2000. LMU has won seven of the last 10 games between the Southern California teams.

Posted by Bob Holtzman at 11:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LOS ANGELES -- UC Santa Barbara can't seem to pull away from Loyola Marymount, but it's shooting percentage has went through the roof. The Gauchos made 10 of their first 15 shots in the second half and their first five free throws. And that came after it missed 22 field goals and made just 4-of-7 free throws in the first half.

Posted by Bob Holtzman at 11:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LOS ANGELES -- UC Santa Barbara seems to be handling its lack of height just fine, tied in rebounds 24-24, with Loyola Marymount and ahead, 49-42.

As for Loyola Marymount's point guard situation... well, it's clearly a work in progress. The Lions have 19 turnovers and while Quentin Turner has played well at the point, the Gauchos are forcing turnovers with their superior quickness at every position.

Offensive fouls are a problem for the Lions, who have at least four, including a couple of charge calls.

Posted by Bob Holtzman at 11:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LOS ANGELES -- UC Santa Barbara just scored on a dunk by Ivan Elliott and it is shots such as those Gauchos coach Bob Williams needs to see more of from his team. It was not a great shooting performance in the first half for UC Santa Barbara, which made just 8-of-30 field goals for a measily 26.7 percent. Elliott's dunk was followed by a layup by Alex Harris, who is trying to heat up in the second half after making just 2-of-7 shots in first 20 minutes.

UC Santa Barbara holds a 38-31 lead over Loyola Marymount with under 15 minutes left in the game. The Lions defense can't afford to give up too many more easy shots if it wants to have a legitimate chance to win.

Posted by Bob Holtzman at 11:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LOS ANGELES -- The second half just started and it looks like both offenses are ready to go. Loyola Marymount has two three-point plays this half and James Powell just hit a three-pointer to give UC Santa Barbara a 30-29 lead.

Posted by Bob Holtzman at 11:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LOS ANGELES -- The first half just wrapped up and UC Santa Barbara guard Alex Harris is having some trouble with the Loyola Marymount defense. Harris is averaging 24 points per game this season (12th in the country) but so far has just eight points. Credit LMU guard Jon Ziri with leading the way to curtail the high-scoring guard, which probably has a lot to do with why the Gauchos are only ahead 23-21 at the halftime break.

Posted by Bob Holtzman at 10:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LOS ANGELES -- UC Santa Barbara is doing a nice job of playing aggressive and using its superior quickness to pressure LMU into 10 turnovers but fouls could catch up. LMU will be in the double bonus the rest of way, trailing 16-13, with seven minutes left in the half. If LMU wants a chance to pull off the win, it's going to need to make a high percentage of those freebies.

LMU just drew a turnover with an offensive foul by Alex Harris and have a chance to take the lead, trailing UC Santa Barbara, 16-15.

Posted by Bob Holtzman at 10:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LOS ANGELES -- Loyola Marymount coach Rodney Tention isn't a cartoon but he can be just as animated. The fiery third-year coach has been quite busy screaming at his team and the officials. Tention's team is getting pushed around a little bit and after one particular non-call, he slammed the scorer's table. The officials probably could have given him a technical but opted to issue him a warning.

His emotion seems to be splashing onto the floor as his team has rebounded from a five-minute scoreless span and now trail UC Santa Barbara, 16-12.

Posted by Bob Holtzman at 10:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LOS ANGELES -- Both UC Santa Barbara coach Bob Williams and LMU coach Rodney Tention must handle a bit of a matchup issue in tonight's game. Tention has to figure out how his team is going to handle the Gauchos' pressure defense without a proven point guard while Williams has to make sure LMU doesn't use its superior size to dominate the glass.

Continue reading "Matchup Situation" »

Posted by Bob Holtzman at 10:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LOS ANGELES -- The crowd isn't significantly bigger than Wednesday night - although it's clear the Loyola Marymount student section seems to have had some fun with the day's Homecoming events. Still, it's clear walking into Gersten Pavilion with the TV truck outside and the cameras above the court give this nonconference game with UC Santa Barbara a little extra excitement. Let's see if it impacts the game at all.

LMU just won the tip.

Posted by Bob Holtzman at 10:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)