Langley – Trinity Western’s David Mutabazi (Surrey, B.C.) put up a game-high 34 points as the Spartans went toe-to-toe with last year’s Big West champion UC Santa Barbara Gauchos before ultimately falling 90-84 Tuesday at the Langley Events Centre.
Playing UCSB, who were 27-8 last year and appeared in March Madness for the second time in three years, the Spartans had three players hit double-digits in scoring, with Connor Platz (Langley) putting up a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds to go with six blocks, and Josh Belvin (Long Beach, Calif.) adding 15 points.
The Gauchos were led by Yohan Traore, who had 24 points and 10 boards, while Ben Shtolzberg had 13 points and Jason Fontenet II added 11. Last year’s Big West Player of the Year and Lou Henson All-American Ajay Mitchell had seven points in just under 19 minutes of action.
TWU shot 43.8 per cent from the field (32-73), while UCSB shot 41.3 per cent (33-80).
Trevor Pridie – TWU Head Coach
“The guys played hard and competed well. It’s good to play a team of this caliber at this point in the season. I thought David was the best player on the court tonight by a mile. That was cool to see him come out and dominate the game. I was excited about our compete level and our pace. We’re going to be really fast this year and we played under control today and made good decisions. It’s so early, so it’s hard to read too much into the score, but I’m happy with the way the guys competed. I thought Connor was fantastic. It was good to see Marcus (Shankar, Campbell River, B.C.) have a really good stretch for us. He works so hard and he came in and helped turn the game around. He was unreal. I thought Leif (Skelding, Coquitlam, B.C.) had his best game he’s ever played here. It was fun and we got lots of contributions from different guys. Guys played unselfish and played the style we want and they battled hard.”
· Mutabazi averaged 28 points per game in TWU’s two contests against NCAA Division I opponents this summer, having put up 22 points against Boise State.
· The Spartans trailed by as many as 21 points in the fourth quarter, but TWU finished the game on a 23-8 run, as the home side outscored the Gauchos 23-13 over the final frame.
· This was the second time TWU and UC Santa Barbara have ever played each other, with the Gauchos winning 102-56 on Sept. 8, 2007.
NEXT UP
The Spartans Canada West regular season schedule opens Nov. 3-4 when they travel to Kamloops, B.C. to take on Thompson Rivers. TWU’s home-opening weekend is Nov. 10-11 against Regina.
