SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- Nathan Molony-Benjamin was the lone Seawolf in double-digit scoring, pouring in 10 points off the bench, while shooting a perfect 4 for 4 from the hardwood, but the Sonoma State men's basketball team lost to NCAA Division I UC Santa Barbara 75-51 Thursday night at The Thunderdome in Santa Barbara.
 
It was an exhibition game for the Seawolves, but a regular season, non-conference game for the Gauchos, who picked up their first win of the year, improving to 1-5.
 
After exchanging baskets for the first few minutes of the contests, and Sonoma jumping out to a 7-5 lead on a three-pointer by Mason Phillips in the early going, UC Santa Barbara responded by going on a 9-0 run, and never looked back. The Gauchos went into the half with a 39-25 lead, 14 of those points from UCSB's Gabe Vincent. Sonoma was able to shoot a solid 44 percent on 11 of 25 shooting in the opening stanza, but what hindered them was only going 2 for 12 from three-point range, while UC Santa Barbara shot 53.8 percent from the floor (14 for 26) and 54.5 percent on three's (6 for 11).
 
The second half provided much of the same story, as the Gauchos consistently held a large lead over the Seawolves, and even increasing the lead to 70-43 with 4:12 left in the contest before ultimately winning by a final of 75-51. Vincent led all scorers with a game-high 17 points, while Jalen Canty chimed in 12 points and a game-high nine rebounds, and Alex Hart rounded out the double-digit scoring with 11.
 
In addition to his 10 points off the bench, Molony-Benjamin was able to grab a team-high six rebounds for Sonoma. Ronnie Harris was the second leading scorer for the Seawolves, adding seven points on 3 of 5 shooting off the bench as well, and starter Luke Cochran had six points on 3 of 6 shooting.
 
All told, the Seawolves shot 37.7 percent overall on 20 of 53 from the floor, 5 of 26 on three-pointers (19.2 percent), and 6 of 12 from the line (50 percent). The Seawolves also only turned the ball over 10 times, while forcing 11 Gaucho turnovers. The difference was the Gauchos were able to shoot 27 of 63 from the floor (42.9 percent), including 8 of 19 from three-point range (42.1 percent), and 13 of 20 from the line (65 percent), all while outrebounding the Seawolves 52-27.
 
The Seawolves will conclude their road trip Saturday night in the Eagles Nest in Los Angeles as they will open up league play against Cal State LA, tip off at 7:30 pm.