Colin Smith Bounces Back In Big Way to Lead UCSB Past Fresno State

UC Santa Barbara’s Colin Smith may have needed 11 months to recover from a torn Achilles tendon, but Wednesday’s rehabilitation was immediate.

The 6-foot-8 sophomore transfer from Vanderbilt redeemed a costly turnover by scoring 13 of his 17 points during a late seven-minute outburst to lead the Gauchos to a 91-86 basketball victory over Fresno State at the Thunderdome.

“Coach talks about all the time, about how it’s not always going to be your moment to shine,” Smith said. “Whenever it comes your time, you’ve got to be able to knock a shot down or finish at the rim.”

Deuce Turner and Jason Fontenet III knocked down enough clutch free throws in the final 1:48 to help UCSB (3-0) stave off a furious comeback by Fresno (1-1).

Turner made six in a row to finish with a game-high 24 points while Fontenet converted four straight while scoring 18 points. The Bulldogs were called for 25 fouls.

“We were prepared for that, that they were going to deny and be physical,” Turner said. “The refs were going to call everything so we were going to have to keep it together.

“You never know how it’s going to be until you get there, and I think we responded really well.”

UCSB, which had made just 62.5% of its foul shots during its first two games this season, converted 29-of-33 (87.9%) on Wednesday. Turner went 15-for-16.

“We must’ve shot 100 free throws today, and we always end practice with free throws,” Gaucho coach Joe Pasternack said. “I’m really proud of our guys’ free-throw shooting under pressure.”

He wasn’t as happy about UCSB’s collapse against Fresno’s full-court press during the final four-plus minutes. The Bulldogs, who forced 20 Gaucho turnovers overall, reduced their 17-point deficit to just five points with 31 seconds to go.

Pasternack vowed to make it a focus of his next practice.

“We’re going to learn how to break the press, and deal with eight players who are going to be on defense and trap us,” he said. “It’ll never be a problem again after Friday morning.”

UCSB made its first three shots from three-point distance — one apiece by Cole Anderson, Stephan Swenson and Max Murrell — to eke out an 11-9 lead.

Nine misses in their next 10 tries from three, however, kept the Gauchos from gaining any separation.

“Fresno State, they played really hard,” Pasternack said. “They’re a Mountain West team that is very talented.

“They gave us an unbelievable fight, and it was good for us because we’ve had two games where we’ve won by like 45, and it’s unrealistic to make 16 threes like we did against Portland.

“That’s not going to always happen. We’ve got to be able to survive a close game.”

UCSB out-shot the Bulldogs 51.9% to 46.3% overall and out-rebounded them 35-31.

But Fresno stayed with the Gauchos through the first 20 minutes by forcing nine turnovers on six steals — three apiece by Jalen Weaver and Zaon Collins.

They also committed 11 fouls by halftime and 25 for the game. The Gauchos went 11-for-14 from the line in the first 20 minutes.

The game went from the physical to the volatile in the second half.

Anderson and Fresno’s Weaver were both charged with technical fouls when they exchanged words after the Bulldog guard missed a closely contended shot.

Weaver vented by making back-to-back threes, but also with more words for Anderson. He was penalized with another technical foul, resulting in his automatic ejection.

Anderson made both free throws to trigger a 9-2 Gaucho run. Swenson capped it with a three and a fast-break pass that Turner converted into a layup and a 57-46 lead with 13:46 to go.

The Bulldogs rallied with the game’s next seven points. The last two came after Collins intercepted Smith’s inbound pass for an easy layup.

Smith raced right back downcourt and converted a three-point play off Anderson’s pass. He added a three-pointer on Turner’s feed on UCSB’s next possession.

“Teammates find me,” Smith said. “Deuce made a great pass to me in the corner and I knocked down a three, just running in transition.”

Smith made 6-of-12 shots including 2-of-5 threes and 3-of-3 free throws while playing a season-high 27 minutes. His Achilles tendon injury came last December while playing in a game for Vanderbilt at Texas Tech.

“Colin is 100% … He’s been going at it for a while,” Pasternack said. “He’s been kind of on a minute restriction just to be conservative, but I thought Colin really competed hard tonight.

“He’s an elite basketball player who can play any position … the two, three, four, five. It doesn’t matter.

“He’s the total package both on offense and defense.”

Smith blew past Fresno’s defensive overplay for a layup and Swenson did the same a half-minute later to give UCSB its biggest lead, 81-64, with 4:47 to go.

Swenson, who finished with 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting and six assists, came out of the game for good just a minute later.

“Steph was not feeling good,” Pasternack said. “He was a little sick, under the weather, and the trainer told me not to play him.

“We were up like 13 or 14 points, and with his sickness I just decided not to play him and give these other guys a chance.”

The game quickly unraveled for the Gauchos, however, with their veteran playmaker on the sidelines.

Amar Augillard ignited a 9-0 Fresno spree by picking off a pass for a layup. He scored 12 of his team-high 21 points in the final 4:07.

The Bulldogs’ comeback hit a snag when Collins fouled Turner while having another technical foul added on. The Gaucho guard made all four free throws.

Turner, who had been called for his own technical foul earlier in the half, acknowledged that, “It definitely got chippy at one point.”

A frenzied, full-court press got Fresno as close as 87-82 on Mykel Robinson’s three with 31 seconds left.

But Fontenet settled things down by outjumping a pair of Bulldogs for an inbounds pass. He was fouled when the play developed into a scrum and made both free throws.

“Jason is playing on another level right now,” Pasternack said. “He’s playing like an all-conference player.”