DAVIS — UC Sana Barbara’s two biggest basketball misses on Thursday weren’t shots.
Star point guard Miro Little and key reserve Marvin McGhee IV were both missing in action for the Gauchos’ 85-75 men’s basketball defeat at UC Davis.
The loss snapped a six-game winning streak for the Gauchos and extended their three-year losing streak to the Aggies to six games.
“I’m tired of not having a full deck,” UCSB coach Joe Pasternack said. “When we have a full deck, we win six in a row.”
The Gauchos (15-8, 8-4 Big West Conference) are just 2-5 in the games they’ve played without Little. He missed six games in December and January with a foot injury called plantar fasciitis.
McGhee, a defensive-minded wing player, was also sorely missed on Thursday. Davis (14-9, 7-5) shot 52% overall and 55.6% (10-of-18) from three-point range.
McGhee was coming off a 14-point, nine-rebound performance against Cal State Fullerton
Pasternack wouldn’t say why both he and Little missed the trip to Davis.
“They were not able to play tonight … that’s it,” he said when asked.
When asked if they’d be available for Saturday’s 7 p.m. home game against first-place UC Irvine, he replied, “I sure hope so … I don’t know.”
Their absence forced Pasternack to play Aidan Mahaney all 40 minutes. C.J. Shaw, Colin Smith and Zion Sensley each played 38 minutes.
Starting center Hosana Kitenge was limited to 21 minutes by foul trouble, however.
“Hosana had two fouls in the first three minutes of the game,” Pasternack said. “That was just undisciplined.”
“We fouled way too much,” he added. “Guys are playing 38 minutes, and your defense suffers when guys have to play that many minutes.”
Davis made 23-of-26 free throws. Guard Marcus Wilson made 8-of-14 field goals, a three, and 7-of-7 foul shots to finish with a career-high 24 points. He also had six rebounds and six assists.
“We couldn’t guard the ball,” Pasternack said. “They just drove right, left, over us, under us.
“It was a pathetic defensive effort.”
Sensley put UCSB ahead in the first six minutes, 11-8, by converting a dunk, a three-pointer and a mid-range jumper. He finished with 14 points and nine rebounds.
But four different Aggies made a three in the next four minutes during a 15-2 run that put them ahead 23-13.
Mahaney, who made just 2-of-10 shots in the first half, rallied the Gauchos by making a trio of threes in the first five minutes of the second half. He finished with 15 points and five assists.
C.J. Shaw scored back-to-back baskets — the first on a steal — to draw UCSB to within 51-50 with 14 minutes left in the game. He led the Gauchos with 18 points while Smith added 16 with four assists.
“I thought C.J. played really hard,” Pasternack said. “Hosana and Zion got nine rebounds each, and we out-rebounded them 32-26 with 14 offensive rebounds.
“But we didn’t shoot the ball well tonight, only 5-for-16 (from three). It might’ve been our worst three-point shooting of the deal.
“But the bottom line is we couldn’t guard them.”
Smith’s four free throws and two more by Michael Simcoe put UCSB ahead, 56-54, with 12:02 to go.
But the Gauchos cooled off from there, making eight of their last 18 shots which included just one more three. The Gauchos also missed three straight free throws — two while in a bonus situation — during a late, two-minute stretch.
A three by the Aggies’ Carl Daughtery Jr. ignited an 11-2 run which put them ahead for good.