Hot shooting by Aidan Mahaney boosted the UC Santa Barbara men’s basketball team to a 109–84 rout of visiting Cal State Bakersfield on Saturday night.
Mahaney finished with a game-high 30 points on 11-of-13 shooting from the field and a perfect 7-of-7 from three-point range. His scoring outburst helped offset the loss of starters Miro Little and Jason Fontenet to injuries.
“I thought Aidan offensively did a really nice job. He is thrust into a really big role right now without Miro and Jason,” said UCSB coach Joe Pasternak. “Defensively, he has to be better. You have to be a two-way player.”
Zion Senseley has also stepped into an increased role of late and delivered 16 points and 14 rebounds in 27 minutes. He also shot 4-of-7 from three-point range.
A running basket at the buzzer by Mahaney gave the Gauchos a 51–36 lead at halftime, and that momentum carried over into the second half.
Freshman C.J. Shaw got the start with the injury to Little and performed admirably with 15 points, four assists, and zero turnovers. Shaw assisted on a Senseley three-pointer that increased the UCSB lead to 55–38 at the 18:41 mark of the second half.
“Considering the circumstances of the last 48 hours, we have had to reinvent the wheel, putting C.J. Shaw at the point guard position,” Pasternak said. “I thought C.J. did an excellent job.”
The Gauchos have now won five consecutive games, improving their record to 8–2 overall and 2–0 in Big West Conference play.
UCSB will now have a week off before traveling to Utah Valley State on Saturday, December 13.
