Riverside, Calif. - The Golden Eagles men's basketball team defeated the University of California – Santa Cruz, 70-68, in Thursday's non-conference game, at the Alumni Pavilion. La Sierra survived a late charge by the Banana Slugs, who missed a shot in the final seconds to send the game into overtime. The team pushes their record to 6-15, in their final non-conference game of the season, as they prepare to start the second round of Cal Pac play.
The Golden Eagles came out of the gates blazing hot and used an early run to build a lead they would eventually hold for the victory. With the score tied at 8-8 just three minutes into the game, La Sierra used a 24-6 run, to take a 32-14 lead midway through the first half.
The Banana Slugs trimmed the lead to 34-24, but another 12-1 run gave the Golden Eagles their largest lead of the game, at 45-25 just prior to the halftime break. La Sierra took a 45-27 lead into the halftime break, before the Slugs mounted their comeback.
Santa Cruz slowly chipped away at the Golden Eagles lead, giving themselves an opportunity to tie or win the game in the final seconds. The Slugs used a 13-2 run to start the second half, cutting the Golden Eagles lead to single digits (47-38) with 14:39 to play.
The Golden Eagles regrouped and pushed the lead back up to 16 points (65-49) with 7:04 left in the game. But the Banana Slugs weren't done yet as they mounted a final charge, finishing the game on a 19-5 run and missing a shot in the final seconds that would have sent the game into overtime. Santa Cruz capitalized on 12 second-half turnovers by the Golden Eagles, along with some missed free-throws down the stretch.
Nevertheless, the Golden Eagles will take the win and prepare for the second round of conference play. Five of the team's seven remaining, regular season games, will be played on their home court, starting with Saturday's match-up with first place, University of Antelope Valley.
The Golden Eagles finished with a balanced attack, with five players tallying double-figure in the scoring column. Rey Solorzano picked up his eighth double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds, also leading the team with six assists. Jacob Angel, Isaac Deese, and Kenny Lewis each scored 12 points in the victory, while Cameron Jackson scored 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field. Deese also led the team with a season-high five steals.
Saturday night's game will tip-off at approximately 8:30pm, following the women's game that gets underway at 6:30pm.
