Fresno State's Isaiah Hill scored a team-high 12 points in the Bulldogs' 61-54 loss to UCSB in Santa Cruz.
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. - The Fresno State men's basketball team fell 61-54 to UC Santa Barbara on Friday afternoon at the Kaiser Permanente Arena - the home of the G-League's Santa Cruz Warriors.
Led by 12 points from Isaiah Hill with Donavan Yap and Anthony Holland adding eight apiece, Fresno State (1-1) saw Big West favorite UC Santa Barbara (2-0) create the needed separation late in the second half.
How It Happened
Getting off to a hot start, the Bulldogs raced out to a 10-2 lead -- keyed by a pair of three-pointers from Holland. A three-point play by Yap extended the 'Dogs lead to nine at 13-4, but an 11-4 run by the Gauchos brought UCSB back with two at 17-15 with 6:31 to play in the opening half.
An alley-oop dunk by Isaih Moore pushed the 'Dogs in front 19-15. UCSB took its first lead of the opening half with an 8-0 run that had Fresno State held scoreless for nearly six minutes. A driving layup by Jordan Campbell in the closing seconds of the half ended the 'Dogs drought as UCSB took a two-point halftime lead to the locker room.
With UCSB getting out to a quick start to the second half, the Gauchos took a 34-27 lead, but a quick response from the 'Dogs after a timeout fueled a 7-0 run tie the contest at 34.
UCSB answered back with an 8-0 run, but again the 'Dogs answered the bell reeling off seven straight points with five points from Hill and a layup from Leo Colimerio.
A lay-up from Holland cut the Gauchos' lead down to one at 48-47 with 3:58 to play in the second half before the Gauchos held on for the eight-point neutral site win.
Notes
This was the first of a six-game stretch featuring the Bulldogs playing all Top 150 opponents, including Wednesday's home game against San Francisco.
UCSB has now won six of its last seven meetings in the all-time series between Fresno State and the Gauchos.
Fresno State dropped to 4-3 in neutral site regular season contests since the start of the 2018-19 season.
The loss snaps Fresno State's five-game winning streak dating back to the end of the 2021-22 season, which was the third-longest active streak in the country entering the day.
Fresno State is now 7-7 when playing on Fridays in Hutson's tenure.
Up next
The 'Dogs return home to host San Francisco (2-0) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. PT at the Save Mart Center. It is High School Night with free admission for all high school students.