UCSB Defeats Westmont 91-79 in First Matchup Since 2020

The night before Thanksgiving found the Westmont College Warriors trading basketball shots with the UCSB Gauchos at the Thunderdome.

When the competition simmered down – after UCSB prevailed as expected, 91-79 – there were more compliments than at some family dinners.

“I want to start by giving [Westmont] credit,” UCSB coach Joe Pasternack said. “They competed hard. They made some tough, tough shots.”

“Joe’s doing an amazing job,” Landon Boucher after his first encounter with the Gauchos as Westmont’s head coach, in a season the Warriors are making their debut at the NCAA Division 2 level. “UCSB is not just a Division 1 team, but a very good Division 1 team. When they get healthy, hit their stride, mesh their new guys … in two and a half months they’re going to be competing to be a national tournament team.”

Both coaches appreciated a turnout of 1,204 fans on a night students were off for the holidays. “It’s great for the community,” Pasternack said.

UCSB’s Ajay Mitchell put all his skills on display, scoring 21 points (8-for-10 from the floor),with seven rebounds and four assists.

“Ajay has a chance to be one of the UCSB guards we remember for a long time,” Boucher said. “He’s tough. We tried everything on him.”

But Westmont posted a pair of individual highs in the box score – senior guard Anthony McIntyre scoring a career-high 28 points and sophomore forward Jarrett Bryant pulling down 12 rebounds. Bryant made it a double-double with 17 points.

The Gauchos led the entire way after Yohan Traore’s putback broke an early 4-4 tie. Traore, a transfer from Auburn, scored 18 points, and after his first four games the 6’11” sophomore is shooting at a 72-percent clip (28 for 39). As a team, the Gauchos shot 61.8 percent against the Warriors.

“We’re one of the top teams in the country in field-goal percentage,” Pasternack said. But UCSB’s defense is another story, he said. “We’ve got to get three stops in a row. We call it a kill. We’re not there right now. Our team has a long, long way to go. I have to emphasize and be a better defensive coach.”

The highlight play of the night was tomahawk dunk by high-flying Josh Pierre-Louis that gave the Gauchos a 37-16 lead. His teammates’ reaction? “Crazy,” Traore said. “Crazy,” added Mitchell. A rebound basket by Matija Belic put UCSB up by 23 (39-16), its largest lead of the night.

Westmont shaved the margin to 15 at halftime, and six minutes into the second half, a step-back three by McIntyre had the visitors trailing by single digits (57-49). But they could not keep pace with the Gauchos the rest of the way.

Also scoring in double figures for UCSB was Belic (16 points). The sophomore from Serbia had four rebounds and four points. Pasternack said he had a 15-minute talk with Belic to pump up his confidence. He is moving into the void left by Miles Norris, who signed a two-way contract with the Atlanta Hawks.

“He plays so many different roles on our team,” Pasternack said. “Rebounding the basketball, shooting threes, driving the ball, pulling up, finding open teammates… We need him to be at his best. I’m so happy he had a great game today.”

Westmont senior Jalen Townsell scored 11 of his 14 points in the second half, and junior Adrian McIntyre, the younger brother of Anthony, contributed 11 points.

The Warriors (2-3) will be back home at Murchison Gym at 6 p.m. Saturday in their last pre-conference tune-up against Life Pacific.

The Gauchos (2-2) travel to Fresno State on Monday and return to the Thunderdome on Wednesday, November 29, against Northern Arizona.