Overview:
Ajay Mitchell’s five assists come at the expense of no turnovers in just his fourth game back from a sprained ankle
Ajay Mitchell didn’t split hairs when a television reporter described him as “a man among boys” during UC Santa Barbara’s 70-59 basketball victory over Northern Arizona on Wednesday.
“I don’t know,” the Gaucho point guard replied, “maybe it’s the beard?”
The Lumberjacks took it on the chin from Mitchell’s near-flawless performance of 30 points, five assists and zero turnovers.
UCSB (4-2), which lost its first two games without him, has won four straight since he returned from a sprained ankle 10 days ago. He scored 27 points in Monday’s win over Fresno State.
“Ajay was terrific — I think this whole week he was terrific offensively,” coach Joe Pasternack said.
His scoring and passing resulted directly in more than 57% of the Gauchos’ points on Wednesday.
He’s now scoring 23.3 points per game on 63.5% shooting overall, 50% from three-point distance, and 84.6% from the free-throw line. He’s also averaging 5.3 rebounds and 4.2 assists.
“I’m not worried about how many I’m going to score, or anything like that,” Mitchell said. “I’m just worried about winning.
“If I have to score, I’ll score. If someone is open, I have to find him. It’s now time for me to be more of a leader.”
His play was crucial on a night in which the Gauchos’ three post players struggled to catch the ball, let alone score it. The trio accounted for just 11 points between them.
Pasternack promised to schedule a course of “Catching 101” to deal with the issue in Friday’s practice.
“We’re going to go from catching a tennis ball to a volleyball,” he said. “Then we’re going to go from a volleyball to a basketball … and we might even use a football.
“We’re going to catch so many passes on Friday, it’s going to be unbelievable, because 14 turnovers is way too many.”
Double-Double Trouble
Josh Pierre-Louis’ double-double stat line of 12 points and 10 rebounds, although blemished by six turnovers, drew Pasternack’s highest praise.
“I’m not sure all those should be under his name,” he said of the turnovers. “We’ve got to do a better job of catching the ball.
“But we’ve been harping on him to rebound, rebound, rebound. He’s the best athlete maybe in the country, and for a guard to get 10 rebounds … that’s a pro.”
Northern Arizona (2-5) made a trio of three-pointers — two by Oakland Fort — to take an early lead of 15-14. Fort finished with 14 points while Jayden Jackson led the Lumberjacks with 17.
Mitchell helped the Gauchos tread water in the early going by scoring 10 of their first 16 points.
Pierre-Louis’ playmaking finally gave UCSB some separation.
His driving pass fed Yohan Traore for a dunk which ignited an 11-2 run. He capped the spree with another drive-and-dish to Matija Belic for a corner three and a 31-22 lead.
Another three by Jason Fontenet II and a driving three-point play by Belic helped the Gauchos take a 41-33 lead into halftime.
Cole Anderson also contributed to UCSB’s 4-for-5 shooting from three in the first half. But he missed all three of his attempts during a second half in which the Gauchos shot just 1-for-10.
“He’s not going to be on every single night, right?” Pasternack said of his leading three-point shooter. “We have to have other guys step up.
“Jason Fontenet hit two huge threes for us … Matija hit a huge three in the first half.”
A Defensive Feeling
The Gauchos out-shot the Lumberjacks 53.6% to 41.4% in the first 20 minutes. Their defense made the difference when they cooled off in the second half. They shot 47.2% for the game to NAU’s 38.6%.
“We’ve been working a lot on the low man being in the gaps,” Pierre-Louis said. “A lot of teams have been driving us a lot, and we didn’t have a low man in the gaps.
“We’ve emphasized that all this week and took that seriously.”
Pierre-Louis and Mitchell had two steals apiece.
Pasternack made defense a priority after Westmont College shot 47% with 11 threes during its 12-point loss to the Gauchos on Nov. 22.
“After the Westmont game, I told everybody here that our defense was not going to make it,” he said. “We’re not going to beat anybody defending like we were defending then.
“We had a great practice on Friday, Saturday, leading up Fresno State. And this past week we really improved. We held two teams under 40% from the field … and this team under 60 points.”
UCSB also outrebounded NAU 41-26. Ariel Bland nearly matched Pierre-Louis’ total with nine.
Foul-Weathered Friend
The Lumberjacks’ defense turned physical in the second half. They were called for a flagrant foul on one play when Mitchell was knocked to the ground. But he mostly held that ground against NAU while shooting 9-for-15 overall and 11-for-12 from the foul line.
“I think every team is going to try to be physical with me, and I don’t think that’s a problem for me,” he said. “Basketball is a sport of contact, so you have to get used to it.
“I’m able to draw a lot of fouls off of that and be smart … play with different paces, and draw contact and the foul.”
Mitchell did add a serious reply to the TV reporter’s “man among boys” comment.
“It’s my third year,” he said. “My freshman year, I wasn’t really a freshman — coach really had me play a lot of minutes to get used to it — so it was a lot of experience.
“I grew up a lot. I’m way more mature. I put some weight on.
“I’ve been ready since I got here to play and I’m proud that I’m at this point now.”
The beard has been filling in nicely, as well.
