February 25, 2003
Men's Basketball splits final six games of season

The Men's Basketball team finished its season with a 79-74 win over the Oaks of Menlo College on Saturday night. Senior Forward Nick Echevestre lead the way in that game with 17 points and 7 rebounds. Sophomore Forward Chris Brazelton and Senior Guard James Page each had 15 points.

The team started the season with 14 consecutive defeats, facing many Division I and Division II opponents such as Santa Clara and UC San Diego.

Things finally started to gel for the team near the end of the season, as the team won three of their final six games.

Despite finishing with a 4-23 record, the team's youth speaks well for the future of the program. Only two seniors, Echevestre and Page, are leaving the team due to graduation, and four of the team's five starters are in either their Freshman or Sophomore years.

January 29, 2003
Men's Basketball loses fourth straight Conference game

OAKLAND, CA -- The UCSC Men's Basketball team lost its third straight game on Tuesday night at Holy Names College, 78-92.

The team had a double-digit lead in the second half, but couldn't put away the Hawks of Holy Names, allowing 55 second half points off of 53% shooting.

Starting Center Derek Jones had perhaps his best game of the season, scoring 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting and collecting 3 steals before fouling out. Freshman Forward Nick Vita had 14 points and six rebounds.

Senior Guard Darwin Zook came of the bench for 13 points and 6 rebounds.

The team plays its next game this Friday against Dominican. Tipoff is set for 5:30 PM.

January 14, 2003
Men's Basketball loses Cal Pac opener at Menlo; 60-77

The start of Cal Pac Conference play has not improved the UCSC Men's Basketball team's record, as the team lost at Atherton to Menlo College, 60-77 and saw their overall record fall to 0-14 for the season.

Freshman Forward Nick Vita continued his strong play, with an impressive stat line of 18 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks and a steal. Sophomore Guard/Forward Chris Brazelton had perhaps the best game of his career, scoring 14 points with 10 rebounds.

As a team, however, the Slugs shot 35 percent from the field and committed 18 turnovers. Their free-throw shooting woes have also continued, as they shot just 60 percent from the line.

The team, with an extremely challenging preconference schedule, had gotten off to a poor start playing several Division I and Division II-caliber teams. With the start of Conference play, they had hoped to turn that around.

So far, that hasn't happened.

The team plays its next game this Friday night at home against nearby rival Bethany College. Game time is set for 7:30 PM.

December 30, 2002
Men's Basketball drops both games at Coyote Holiday Classic; falls to 0-10

SAN BERNADINO, CA -- The UCSC Men's Basketball team continued to struggle this past weekend, losing two games at the CSU San Bernadino Coyote Holiday Classic, and watching their record fall to 0-10 for the season.

Senior Forward Nick Echevestre is leading the team in scoring with 13.8 points a game. Echevestre lead the team in both CSUSB Tournament games, scoring 12 points against the host Coyotes and 9 points against the Rams of Angelo State.

Despite the start, there is still time for the team to get back on track for Cal Pac Conference play. The first conference game of the season won't be until January 10 at Menlo College. The team plays their next game on December 31st at Westmont College. They don't play at home again until January 31st, a conference game against Dominican.

December 4, 2002
Men's Basketball opens the year, 0-4

A tough early season schedule has seen the Men's Basketball team open their 2002-2003 campaign at 0-4.

Losses to Division I Santa Clara and three Division II teams, San Francisco State, Westmont and Northern Arizona have proven to be a "baptism-by-fire" of sorts for a young UCSC team that returns only two starters from last year's squad.

Senior Forward Nick Echevestre has lead UCSC in scoring with 12.5 points a game. Echevestre, last year's leading scorer, came into this season with a 14.7 career average.

Freshman Forward Nick Vita has been the top newcomer so far for UCSC, averaging 11 points and 5 rebounds a game with 4 starts.

Despite the rough start, the Slugs have shown definite signs of improvement. Their total scoring output has increased in each game so far, and free-throw shooting, unquestionably the team's biggest achilles' heel last year, has also improved, culminating in their 23-27 performance at Northern Arizona.

The team should have a much better time of it against San Jose Christian, who they'll play this Friday night at the West Field House. Game time is set for 5:30 PM.