The UCSB men’s basketball team had ample opportunity to put away visiting Loyola Marymount but failed to land a knockout blow.
The Lions clawed their way in front in the second half, withstood a furious UCSB rally, and put the finishing touches on a 78-74 overtime victory on Monday night at the Thunderdome.
“The problem with our team is that we don’t believe in defense and rebounding,” said UCSB coach Joe Pasternack. “We just want to make three-pointers, and when the three-pointers aren’t falling, we are in trouble.”
The Gauchos were cruising in the first half behind hot shooting from three-point range. Colin Smith gave UCSB a 28-25 lead with a shot from beyond the arc off an assist from Aidan Mahaney with 6:16 remaining in the first half.
A Mahaney three-pointer off an assist from Evans Kipruto extended the Gauchos’ lead to 37-29 at the 3:06 mark. Smith closed the first-half barrage from long range, increasing UCSB’s lead to 40-29 with 2:02 remaining.
The Gauchos opened the second half with a 12-7 run and took a 52-38 lead on a basket inside by Smith at the 13:04 mark, but from that point momentum shifted heavily in LMU’s favor.
After shooting six-for-12 from three-point range in the first half, the Gauchos went just two-for-16 from beyond the arc in the second half and overtime.
The Lions locked in defensively and turned the tide with an 11-0 run capped by a Jalen Shelley three-pointer with 8:02 remaining in the second half.
LMU eventually tied the score at 60-60 on a layup by Myron Amey Jr. with 3:32 left in regulation.
Amey followed that with back-to-back three-pointers that put the Lions ahead 66-60 with 1:47 to play. The fifth-year senior finished with a game-high 29 points, including six-for-seven shooting from long distance.
“They were men, and this was a man’s game. They were men and we were boys,” Pasternack said. “They are on another level than us right now.”
However, Miro Little came to the rescue for UCSB, relentlessly attacking the rim and scoring the final 11 points of regulation for the Gauchos.
A driving layup plus the foul by Little cut the UCSB deficit to 68-67 with 26 seconds left, and Shelton Nakyel converted one-of-two free throws on the ensuing LMU possession.
Trailing 69-67, Little got all the way to the rim again for a layup that tied the score at 69-69 with 11 seconds remaining. Amey’s mid-range jumper at the buzzer was off the mark, sending the game to overtime.
In overtime, the Gauchos briefly took the lead on a turnaround jumper by Smith, but the Lions answered. A three-pointer by Amey Jr. put LMU ahead 74-71, and they closed the game on a 9-3 run as UCSB converted only one-of-four free throws in the extra period.
Little led UCSB with 19 points and seven rebounds. Smith added 18 points, and Mahaney chipped in 17, including 14 in the first half.
The Gauchos will travel to the University of Nevada for their next game on Saturday, November 22, beginning at 2 p.m.
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