UC Santa Barbara Deals Bison 85-66 Loss in Season Opener

Saturday, November 11

Santa Barbara, Calif.

3 p.m.

North Dakota State

0-1

UC Santa Barbara

1-0

Team	1	2	F
North Dakota State	31	35	66
UC Santa Barbara	40	45	85

Photo by: Carrie Snyder

11/11/2017 6:09:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

PDF Box Score

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – UC Santa Barbara shot 55 percent from three-point range to defeat the North Dakota State men's basketball team in the season opener Saturday, 85-66.

UCSB sophomore guard Max Heidegger poured in 33 points and connected on 8-of-14 shots from beyond the arc to lead all scorers. Graduate transfer Leland King II added 23 points and nine rebounds for the Gauchos.

Senior guard Paul Miller led the Bison with 18 points. Sophomore forward Deng Geu and redshirt freshman guard Cameron Hunter both scored 11 for NDSU. Miller also matched his career-high with six assists and grabbed five rebounds.

The game was tied at 28-28 with just under four minutes left in the first half before UC Santa Barbara exploded for a 10-0 run capped by a pair of treys from Heidegger. The Bison trailed 40-31 at halftime.

NDSU never got closer than nine points in the game's final 17 minutes. Four straight free throws by Miller made it 70-61 with 5:21 remaining, but UCSB once again answered with a three from Heidegger.

Sophomores Tyson Ward and Jared Samuelson both made their first career starts for NDSU.

UC Santa Barbara made 12-of-22 three-point shots in the game, while NDSU was 7-for-23 from downtown.

The Bison will travel to Los Angeles to take on No. 10 USC on Monday night at 10 p.m. CT.