The UCSB men’s basketball team knew it was going to get Cal Poly’s best shot at the Thunderdome Thursday night.
But a heroic effort on the offensive end from guard Ajay Mitchell and yet another stellar defensive play by forward Miles Norris near the tail end of the contest proved to be enough to stave off the visiting Mustangs, as the Gauchos won 68-62.
With the victory, UCSB improved to 18-3 overall and a Big West best 9-1 conference record. Cal Poly remains in last place with a 7-16 overall record and 1-10 Big West mark.
“I told our team right now, every game we’re in a one-game season and every game is going to be a battle,” UCSB coach Joe Pasternack said after the game. “I don’t care who we’re playing, the first-place team or the last-place team, that’s the way it goes, and I’m really proud of our guys for gutting it out and really competing to the very end.”
Mitchell, who finished with a cool 16 points and eight assists to just three turnovers, agreed with his coach, adding “we are getting everyone’s best shot in this conference. But we are going to be ready.”
Mitchell was certainly up to the task.
UCSB led by as many as 11 on Thursday, but Cal Poly kept hanging around. By the end of the first half, the Mustangs trailed by just eight.
And to start the second half, they just kept slowly chipping away.
UCSB led 50-46 with just under eight minutes remaining, but back-to-back 3s from Cal Poly’s Brantly Stevenson, sandwiched in between an Andre Kelly basket, tied the game at 52-all.
From there, UCSB was unable to capture a two-possession lead again with the next six minutes being a true back-and-forth contest.
That is, until Mitchell made the biggest play of the night.
Driving to the basket, Mitchell drew a foul, and as the sophomore was falling sideways, he flipped up a shot that went off the backboard and through the net.
After he nailed the ensuing free throw, the Gauchos took a 64-60 lead with just 1:14 left in the contest.
“It was just a mismatch,” Mitchell said about that play.
“I had the big homie on me, so I had to take him, and made the shot and then made the free throw, so that was a good play for us.”
Even before that play, however, Mitchell was playing calm and collected — pacing the Gauchos offense in a way that it wouldn’t be a big turnover making the difference.
“That’s why I love basketball,” Mitchell said. “Close games, end of game situations, everyone is hyped and I love that. And it’s great to stay calm in those situations.”
Cal Poly missed a layup on the next play, but an offensive rebound by the Mustangs’ Alimamy Koroma, who finished with a team-high 13 points and game-high eight rebounds, seemed like it would end in a Mustang basket — further extending the game.
Norris had other plans — coming from behind Koroma and swatting the ball away.
That play proved to be what ultimately sealed the deal, with Norris corralling the rebound right after and the Gauchos doing just enough at the free throw line over the final 40 seconds to win the contest.
“We just got to get stops,” Norris said. “It’s the final war those last four minute. We knew it was going to come down to defense and made free throws and, unfortunately, we missed a lot of free throws so we had to make some crucial stops.
“I just wanted to make some plays to help my team win.”
Norris finished the contest with a game-high 18 points, four rebounds, two steals and one block. He also went 6-for-6 from the line, a feat not many of his teammates came close too.
As a team, UCSB shot just 16-for-27 from the line.
Even Mitchell, who usually shoots about 80% from the line, shot just 6-for-10 on Thursday.
“It wouldn’t have been a close game if we could have made our free throws and I’m telling you guys, I’m racking my brain,” Pasternack said. “I’ve tried every drill known to mankind. We have our guys shooting 100 free throws a day and we have to be able to knock them down.”
For Norris, a senior, he was also excited to beat his Blue-Green rival one last time in front of a packed crowd.
The crowd was electric Thursday, with nearly 4,000 people in attendance — including award-winning actor and former Gaucho himself, Michael Douglas.
“The student crowd, the crowd in general, was awesome,” Pasternack said. “When we came to Santa Barbara six years ago, that’s what we wanted to create — a dominating home court. And I thought it was one of the best crowds we’ve had since we’ve been here.
“It was awesome. Kudos to the fans, the students, they really helped us will our way through this win.”
UCSB travels to face Cal State Northridge Saturday at 7 p.m.