Men's Basketball hosted the College of the Canyons for a Western State Conference Interdivisional battle of Cougars.  Cuesta and Canyons are two of six teams in the State nicknamed "Cougars, although another half-dozen colleges boast some other name related to the "puma concolor".  Tonight, the top cat was the visiting Canyons team, which picked up the victory in the non-conference "catfight", 83-71.  Early in the game, it looked like host Cuesta had the edge when the built a 27-21 lead, but Canyons finished strong and went into halftime leading by six, 33-27.  In the second half, defense was scarce as the two teams combined for 94 points, however Canyons doubled its first half margin to beat Cuesta, 83-71.  The loss lifted Canyons to an even 7-7 on the season, while Cuesta, which had won four of its past five games, fell to 5-10.  

Canyons' offense was led by a pair of 20-point scorers, who dominated the game, while Cuesta had just three players score in double figures.  Canyons' Guard Joshua Barnett and Forward Jonah El-Farra scored 22 and 20 points, respectively.  Barnett also tied for game-highs with both five assists and two steals and El-Farra also corralled a game-high 16 rebounds.  2023 All-WSC First Team Guard Drew Ardouin paced Cuesta with both 20 points and four assists, while Freshman Forward TJ Maveety grabbed a team-high eight rebounds for the Cougars.  

Cuesta plays its final pre-conference game this Saturday at Glendale in a men's and women's doubleheader.  The men open the show at 3 PM, while the women play the nightcap at 5 PM.  The Cougars begin their chase for the Western State Conference North Division title on January 10 at Santa Barbara City.