Former Bulldog Garrick Scores 11 in Cal Poly's Thrilling 80-79 Come-From-Behind Win Over UCSB in Big West Opener

Former Allan Hancock College star Marcellus Garrick scored 11 points to help the Cal Poly men's basketball team stun rival UC Santa Barbara in both teams' Big West Conference opener Thursday. The Mustangs improved to 6-9 on the season and 1-0 in conference play after winning the Blue-Green Rivalry in dramatic fashion in front of the home crowd at Mott Athletics Center. UCSB fell to 11-4 on the year and 0-1 in league.

Garrick scored eight points in a three-minute period midway through the second half to help the Mustangs keep pace with the Gauchos. He hit a layup, sank three free throws, and buried a 3-point bucket.

The junior played 21 minutes overall off the bench. He hit 3-of-7 from the field overall, including both of his shots from 3-point range. Garrick was also 3-for-3 from the free-throw line. Garrick added two rebounds. He reached double-digits in scoring for the sixth time during the regular season.

Max Heidegger hit a jumper to give UCSB a 79-77 lead with two seconds remaining in the game. Cal Poly called a timeout and in-bounded the ball. Luke Meikle took a 50-foot pass and was fouled while launching a 50-foot shot toward the basket. After a lengthy review to confirm the time remaining, Meikle made all three free throws to stun the Gauchos and turn a two-point UCSB lead to a one-point Cal Poly victory.

UCSB jumped out to a 23-2 lead to start the game. After trailing by 21 points less than nine minutes into the game, the Mustangs rallied to pull to within 40-36 at halftime.

Donovan Fields led the Mustangs with 22 points and six assists, while Victor Joseph added 16, and Meikle chipped in 13 points. Jalen Canty led the Gauchos with 21 points to go with 10 rebounds.

The Mustangs host Cal State Fullerton in another conference game on Saturday at 7 p.m.