MUNCIE, Ind. ? Ball State, who ended the second-longest road trip in school history, returned home to Worthen Arena for the first time in nearly a month and fell to UC Santa Barbara, 79-52.
The Gauchos, off to their best start to a season in 19 years at 10-1, extended their winning streak to eight consecutive games.
“Obviously, tonight we played a very good Santa Barbara team,” said first-year Ball State head coach Billy Taylor. “They have size and are athletic. They can shoot outside and inside. I would have liked to have a better defensive effort out of our guys.
UC Santa Barbara jumped out to a 5-0 lead early, before fifth-year senior Peyton Stovall scored on a jumper.
The Cardinals were then outscored 19-2 as the Gauchos increased their lead to 24-7 with 6:30 in the first half.
"We need much better energy and we need to defend better," Taylor said. "Tonight we let each play continue to build on itself instead of forgetting the play before. "
UCSB extended its 15-point halftme lead to 42-22 less than three minutes into the second half following a layup from Chris Devine.
The lead never fell below 20 in the final 10 minutes.
"Our guys have all heard of Ball State," said UCSB head coach Bob Williams. "You have a great name in the business. I took over a program at UCSB that was 0-8 before we got our first win. We then went 15-19 and won our conference tournament.
"I like how they are playing," Williams added. "These guys are playing just has hard as any guys in the country. These coaches are preparing just as hard, if not harder, than any team in the country."
Stovall scored a team-high 18 points, while freshman Melvin Goins added 10 points and seven rebounds. He also handed out five assists.
Devine and Alex Harris each scored a game-high 22 points to lead UCSB.
Ball State returns to action with a 2 p.m. contest Saturday vs. Illinois State at Worthen Arena.
Saturday's game is Pepsi/WLBC Family Day with free C.S. Kern schedule posters to the first 1,500 fans, plus NCAA mascot J.J. Jumper will entertain.
