Sophomore Zion Sensley exploded for 23 points and 14 rebounds as the UC Santa Barbara men’s basketball team defeated San Francisco State, 98-67, in its season opener Monday night at the Thunderdome.
The Gauchos did not shoot particularly well from the field or the free-throw line, but they outrebounded San Francisco State 61-23 — led by Sensley’s tenacity — and enjoyed a 43-13 advantage in free-throw attempts.
“I am really proud of Zion Sensley because I’ve been harder on Zion than any other player on our team, since he has such an unbelievable ceiling,” said UCSB coach Joe Pasternack. “He has changed his behavior as well as anybody, and it’s not complete yet.”
The UCSB starters were University of Connecticut transfer Aiden Mahaney, Utah transfer Miro Little, University of Louisiana transfer Hosana Kitenge, and returners Jason Fontenet and Colin Smith.
The Gauchos were short on big men with Koat Keat Tong and Evan Kipruto sidelined by injuries, but Kitenge provided a formidable inside presence in his Gaucho debut, contributing 11 points and nine rebounds.
A driving layup by Kitenge gave UCSB a 9-2 lead with 17:58 remaining in the first half as the Gaucho starters relentlessly attacked the rim in the opening minutes.
Back-to-back three-pointers by Little and Sensley extended the UCSB lead to 25-14 with 11:28 left in the first half.
Freshman CJ Shaw was electric off the bench for UCSB, finishing with 20 points and six rebounds, including a put-back dunk that delighted the Thunderdome crowd. Shaw’s floater plus the foul pushed the Gauchos ahead 48-32 with 3:22 remaining in the first half.
A layup by Mahaney off an assist from Fontenet increased the UCSB lead to 63-35 with 18:14 remaining in the second half.
Mahaney was efficient in his UCSB debut, scoring nine points on 3-of-5 shooting from the field with three assists. He drained his only three-point attempt. Smith added eight points and five rebounds, while Little chipped in 12 points, seven rebounds, and three assists.
Santa Barbara High product Luke Zuffelato saw nearly 17 minutes of action and appears likely to earn consistent minutes off the bench. Fellow freshman Michael Simcoe also saw significant time before leaving the game after losing a tooth due to a blow to the face.
Pasternack lamented his team’s defensive effort throughout the game, as the visiting Gators shot 41.9 percent from the field and 34.6 percent from three-point range.
“We have to get better defensively. We’re not going to go anywhere giving up 67 points at home in the opener,” Pasternak said. “We had a bunch of mistakes and lackadaisical effort on defense, and we have to fix that.”
The Gauchos will host San Jose State on Saturday at 1 p.m.
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