A lot has changed for the UC Santa Barbara men’s basketball team in the month of January.
After dropping a New Year’s Day matchup to Cal State Fullerton, 95-84, the Gauchos closed out the month with an 83-69 rout of the visiting Titans on Saturday night at the Thunderdome, extending their winning streak to six games.
“This was a big week for us. It wasn’t easy going down to UC San Diego and then traveling back and having enough energy to play a team that put 95 (points) on us at their place,” said UCSB coach Joe Pasternak. “Fullerton is a good team. They were 5-5 in our league and beat some good teams in our league.”
After getting blitzed in the opening minutes at Cal State Fullerton, the Gauchos flipped the script on their home court and took a 14-6 lead on a Colin Smith three-pointer with 12:31 remaining in the first half.
Smith shot a perfect 5-for-5 from the field and 2-for-2 from three-point range on his way to 13 points. The UCSB attack was balanced overall, as six Gauchos scored at least nine points.
“I think this is one of the most talented teams I’ve ever been a part of offensively, and when you have guys like that, there’s no need to take tough shots,” Smith said. “Just keep it moving and the ball is going to find you. It was one of those days when the ball found me when I was open, and I was able to produce.”
The Gauchos’ first-half lead ballooned to 34–16 on a three-point play by Miro Little with 3:20 remaining in the half, but Cal State Fullerton closed the half on a 13-4 run, capped off by a KJ Garris layup at the buzzer that cut the deficit to 38–29.
The Titans shot 7-of-12 from three-point range in the first half to salvage what was otherwise a slow start offensively.
In the second half, Cal State Fullerton cut its deficit to 46-39 on a Josh Ward layup with 15:32 remaining, but that was as close as the score would get for the remainder of the contest.
The Gauchos immediately responded with a 22-2 run, capped off by a Smith layup, to take a 68–41 lead with 8:55 remaining.
Marvin McGhee IV contributed another solid performance off the bench with 14 points on 5-for-10 shooting from the field and nine rebounds. Freshman CJ Shaw overcame a slow start to finish with a team-high 17 points.
The Gauchos (15-7 overall, 8-3 Big West) have a tough matchup on deck at UC Davis on Thursday, February 5, beginning at 6 p.m.
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