The UC Santa Barbara men’s basketball team opened its 2026-27 season with an 85-55 victory over Division II San Francisco State on Monday night at The Thunderdome.
The Gauchos (1-0) took control with a 12-0 run that began in the final 10 seconds of the first half and continued into the early stages of the second half. The dominant stretch extended their lead from 39-26 to 51-26, putting the game out of reach.
UCSB finished with 55 points from its bench, 40 points in the paint, 18 assists and 10 steals. The Gauchos also limited San Francisco State to 40 percent shooting from the field and 21 percent shooting from three-point range.
UCSB trailed 602 early, but responded with a 10-0 scoring run, featuring baskets from Koat Keat Tong, Miro Little, Viljami Vartiainen and RJ Smith, which gave the Gauchos a 12-6 lead.
San Francisco State later cut the deficit to two points at 19-17, but UCSB responded with contributions from Antonio Chol, Eric Dibami and Michael Simcoe to regain control. Chol added a 3-pointer with 1:47 remaining in the half and a dunk in the final 10 seconds as the Gauchos took a 41-26 lead into the break.
UCSB continued to extend its advantage after halftime. Dibami opened the second-half scoring with a layup before adding a fast-break dunk. Three-pointers from Little and Chol helped push the lead to 56-29 with 15:09 remaining.
San Francisco State mounted a brief response, forcing turnovers and cutting the margin to 58-43. However, Marvin McGhee IV hit two 3-pointers, and Smith added another to help the Gauchos restore a 23-point advantage at 67-44 with 7:15 left.
UCSB added an 8-0 run between 6:08 and 4:24, with Jordan Charles, Vartiainen and Luke Zuffelato contributing baskets. Defensive plays, including blocks from Chol and Marco John Wuol, helped maintain the lead.
Charles scored six points in the final 6:08 and recorded a steal as the Gauchos closed out the victory. UCSB outrebounded San Francisco State 26-18 in the second half and recorded six blocked shots.
After the game, head coach Joe Pasternack praised the performance of Declan Duru Jr., highlighting his energy and improvement.
“I was really, really happy to see the incredible energy from Declan Duru Jr. tonight,” Pasternack said. “His improvement is unbelievable; he competed so hard tonight. We have a deep team, and it is a highly competitive environment every single day.”
The Gauchos will return to The Thunderdome on Saturday, Nov. 7, to host Oakland University. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m
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