Mandel Goes for 25-10 Again as Vaqueros Fall Short vs. Cuesta

SANTA BARBARA, CA – For the fourth straight game, the SBCC men's basketball team went down to the wire, but following a pair of one-possession overtime wins, the Vaqueros fell just short to Cuesta 71-69 at home on Saturday.

Freshman Aidan Mandel tied a season-high with 25 points (12/19 FG) to lead the Vaqueros (9-14, 4-3) yet again, also pulling in a team-high 10 rebounds. Mandel scored 15 of his 25 in the second half, knocking down 7-of-11 shots over the final 20 minutes.

Fresh off a game-winning overtime layup against Oxnard, guard Elijah Simpson went for 17 points, knocking down a season-high four three-pointers and going 6-of-11 from the field overall. Truman Teuber turned in a solid performance as well with nine points on 3-of-4 from deep, good for his second-highest scoring outing of the year.

However, after Teuber's three-pointer with less than 10 seconds remaining made it a one-point game, Simpson's final look from three would miss at the buzzer.

The Vaqueros spent much of the game fighting their way back into it, as Cuesta jumped out to an early 18-7 advantage and led 44-32 at halftime. SBCC's defense would be sharp the rest of the way, holding the Cougars to just 27 points.