Aidan Mahaney Makes Another Big Conference Call in UCSB’s Basketball Win Over Cal State Bakersfield

The Big West Conference’s “Bold Week” was more like Gold Week for UC Santa Barbara basketball star Aidan Mahaney.

The senior transfer from UConn enjoyed his second career-high scoring game in as many nights by torching Cal State Bakersfield for 30 points in a 109-84 victory over Cal State Bakersfield at the Thunderdome on Saturday.

Mahaney, who scored 26 in Thursday’s early-bird, league-opening win over Long Beach State, made 11-of-13 shots on Saturday which included all seven of his three-point attempts to lead the Gauchos (8-2, 2-0 Big West) to their fifth-straight victory.

The 6-foot-3 senior, who scored 25 points five times during his two seasons at Saint Mary’s, sensed the urgency of Bold Week.

“You’ve got to have pop for every game but, obviously, this is new for me, being in a one-bid league,” Mahaney said. “Saint Mary’s being in the WCC with Gonzaga — and obviously the Big East with UConn and St. John’s and all those teams — are multi-bid leagues.

“This is a one-bid league, and that makes the conference games just so much more important.

“So coming in really locked in, focused, and making sure the guys are in their places and ready to go mentally and physically, is super-important.”

He watched the last 7½ minutes of Saturday’s game after getting knocked down while converting a steal into a three-point play. He limped off the court after making the free throw but said he’d be back for next Saturday’s “Salt Lake Slam.” The Gauchos will face Utah Valley at the Delta Center in an 11 a.m. contest.

“I’m feeling great,” Mahaney said. “I’m glad we’ve got a week off and I’ll be ready to go come Saturday, and I’m looking forward to a week of practice.

“We’ve got a lot to work on, so I’m really excited for it.”

The loss of starting point guard Miro Little to a leg injury in the first half of Thursday’s overtime victory made Mahaney’s performances even more critical. Junior co-captain Jason Fontenet II also sat out his fifth-straight game with a hip injury.

“Considering the circumstances of the last 48 hours, we’ve really had to reinvent the wheel, putting C.J. Shaw at the point-guard position with Miro and Jason out,” UCSB coach Joe Pasternack said. “I thought C.J. did an excellent job … four assists and no turnovers, thrust into the point-guard position.”

Mahaney said Shaw, a freshman who won Nevada’s Gatorade High School Player of the Year Award last season, did “more of the heavy lifting than I did as far as handling the ball.”

Shaw, who was making only his second collegiate start, scored 15 points which included 9-of-10 shooting from the free-throw line.

“That kid’s going to be special … He’s got a super-bright future,” Mahaney said. “Credit to Joe for getting that guy over here because he’s big-time.

“Really happy to have him kind of under my wing. I remember when I was a freshman and I had a guy by the name of Logan Johnson as a senior … a veteran point guard for me.

“I’m just trying to boost confidence in him, give him a couple tricks of the trade that I’ve learned over my past three years in college basketball.”

Sophomore Zion Sensley recorded his third double-double of season with 16 points and 14 rebounds. Five of his rebounds were on the offensive end.

“He’s really taken pride in not being a one-trick pony, we call it,” Pasternack said. “It’s about being a complete player.

“It’s unbelievable, his change of behavior. I’m so proud of him. He’s so coachable.”

Sensley’s 6-of-13 field-goal shooting included 4-of-7 from beyond the three-point line. He credits his 46.5% shooting from three this season to UCSB’s ball movement.

“We pride our team on moving the ball three sides,” he said, “getting the ball from one side to the other side as much as we can to find the best open looks.”

The 6-foot-8 forward has averaged 14.2 points and 9.0 rebounds since taking over for Fontenet in the starting lineup five games ago. He’s at 11.7 points and 7.9 rebounds for the season.

His 27.6 minutes per game the last five games is nine more than he was averaging before Fontenet went down.

“We try to make our practices harder than the games, as coach likes to say, so I feel like all of our guys are in shape and ready to step up,” Sensley said.

Pasternack gave no timetable for the return of either Little or Fontenet. Little wore a boot on his injured leg while watching Saturday’s game from the Gaucho bench.

“We’re getting second opinions,” Pasternack said. “Their families are really, really doing their due diligence right now.

“Precautionary, we wanted to hold Miro out again tonight. Hopefully, we’ll get some clarity this coming week on both of those guys.”

UCSB never looked back after taking a 9-8 lead on Sensley’s back-to-back threes. The Gauchos shot 55.7% which included a 48.3% accuracy (14-for-29) from three-point range.

They also out-rebounded Bakersfield (4-6, 0-2 Big West) by a 40-22 margin.

The 109 points were the most the Gauchos have scored against an NCAA Division 1 opponent since beating Arkansas 109-80 on Dec. 1, 1973.

Junior forward Colin Smith contributed 10 points and four assists. UCSB also got strong bench play up front from senior Evans Kipruto (nine points, five rebounds) and freshman Michael Simcoe (nine points, four rebounds).

But Pasternack was displeased with Bakersfield’s 50% shooting — 52.6% from three (10-for-19). C.J. Hardy led the Roadrunners with 23 points.

“For us, defense and rebounding will be our calling card,” Pasternack said. “I thought we rebounded against a really tough rebounding team — doubled them up.

“But defensively, we can’t guard the ball, we’re not in gaps, teams are just driving us at will.

“We gave up 48 points in the second half, and that’s not going to work as we move forward.”

The Gauchos will take final exams this week before Saturday’s game against Utah Valley, a future Big West team that defeated UC Irvine earlier this season.

“The good news is we have a day off tomorrow,” Pasternack said. “We have to figure out how we can improve defensively because we’re not going to hit 14 threes every night.

“Right now, we’re relying on our shooting, and for us to have a chance to compete at any level, we have to improve that.”