SANTA CRUZ, Calif. –
Reece Gibb surpassed multiple career highs and
Trey Bryant played all but four minutes, but Linfield fell 90-81 to UC Santa Cruz Friday night at Kaiser Permanente Arena.
Gibb dropped 21 points, shattering his previous single-game best of 10, set against Pacific last season. He made 7 of 12 from field, knocking down six shots from beyond the arc along the way. His six three-pointers and six rebounds were also career highs.
Bryant played 36 minutes, scoring 20 points to go with six rebounds, six assists and two steals. He made 60 percent of his shots, going 9 for 15 from the field.
Carson Bonine also scored in double figures with 11 points. He made three shots from deep and tallied three rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Jackson Dupree added nine points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals while
Alex Jaczko and
Jacob Hjort scored six points apiece.
Despite the loss, Linfield connected on 41.1 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from three-point range. But the red-hot Banana Slugs made 50 percent of their shots and scored 21 points off free throws. The Wildcats finished with 18 second chance points, but the Slugs scored 38 points in the paint while the bench contributed 33.
Tyler Kessinger matched Gibb's game-high with 21 points on 8 of 14 from the field and 3 of 6 from long range to lead the Slugs offensively. He dished out a game-high seven assists. Teammate Zino Okah scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds while Avri Finch had a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds. Finch tacked on three assists and four steals to his performance. Eric DeBrine just missed a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds.
NEXT
The 'Cats (0-2) close their California road trip on Saturday, playing Caltech at 4 p.m. at West Field House in Santa Cruz.