IRVINE — UC Santa Barbara appeared headed for a come-from-behind, men’s basketball victory at UC Irvine on Saturday.
But then the Gauchos lost a shoe, lost the ball, lost their footing, lost their lead — and finally lost their cool — in a tragic sequence that ended in a 64-60 loss at the Bren Center.
UCSB surrendered a hard-earned, two-point lead in the last 2:05 by committing the final three of their 18 turnovers.
“We had our opportunities,” coach Joe Pasrternack said. “We really battled back in the second half, went small, and that allowed us to come back and have a chance to win.
“But when you go on the road and have 18 turnovers and lose the rebounding war (35-32), you’re not going to beat anybody as good as Irvine.”
The loss dropped the Gauchos (18-12, 11-8 Big West Conference) into fifth place in the league race, a half-game behind both UC San Diego and Cal State Northridge.
Irvine (20-10, 13-5) trails first-place Hawai’i (22-7, 14-5) by a half game.
UCSB will complete its regular season with its Senior Night game against UC San Diego on Saturday at 6 p.m.
The Gauchos rallied from a first-half deficit that grew to as large as 12-points.
They lost any chance at a dramatic victory, however, when senior guard Aidan Mahaney was whistled for a technical foul.
ESPN2 replays showed him interacting with one of Irvine’s assistant coaches as he left the court during a timeout with 25.1 seconds remaining.
The call disqualified him for the rest of the game with five fouls. It also gave the Anteaters two free points and a 63-57 lead after Andre Henry made the two technical foul shots.
The extracurricular infraction was Mahaney’s third technical foul in the last seven games.
“I was confused, I didn’t understand it, but at the end of the day, you have to have great mental toughness in life, and you can’t get a technical foul,” Pasternack said. “Whatever they say to you, you can’t say a word back.”
Ironically, the ESPN2 announcers had scripted Mahaney as a feel-good story after he’d made a pair of clutch shots in borrowed shoes. He had “blown a tire,” they said.
UCSB got little traction in the first seven minutes, missing six of its first eight shots and committing five turnovers to fall behind 13-4
Jurian Dixon scored seven of the UCI’s first 11 points and assisted Tama Isaac’s dunk. Dixon finished with 13 points.
The Gauchos needed Marvin McGhee IV to make back-to-back threes and C.J. Shaw to follow with two of his own to get to within 24-18 with 6:18 left in the first half.
Mahaney, who was held scoreless in nearly the first 17 minutes, got loose for a mid-key, fadeaway jumper and a three in the last 3:10 of the first half.
Five of UCSB’s nine first-half baskets came from the three-point line.
But the Anteaters earned a 32-23 lead by halftime by out-scoring UCSB in the paint, 22-6. They also enjoyed a 7-0 edge in free throws.
“We had a really poor first half,” Pasternack said. “Turnovers, offensive rebounds given up … Just a terrible, terrible first half.”
The Gauchos’ plan to strike Irvine from long distance paid off during the second half.
Zion Sensley hit the first three-pointers of the period. Colin Smith made three more in a span of just two minutes and 17 seconds.
Smith then took it to the hoop, scoring a running, left-handed bank shot and a whirling drive to reduce UCSB’s deficit to 47-43.
He scored all 16 of his game-high points in the second half. He also grabbed a team-high six rebounds.
“I thought Colin was terrific tonight,” Pasternack said.
Sensley scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half.
The Gauchos out-shot the Anteaters 42.9% to 39.7% overall and 44% to 10% in three-pointers.
“I thought in the second half we really defended and executed a lot of the stuff we did,” Pasternack said.
Mahaney’s shoe came apart when Henry scored a fadeaway jumper to improve UCI’s lead to 52-45 with 8:55 to go. He finished with 12 points while Jovan Jester Jr. came off the bench to net 13.
McGhee, who had fouled out just 23 seconds earlier, lent his pair to get Mahaney back on the court.
Mahaney responded by banking in a high, running, lefthanded shot over UCI center Kyle Evans. He added a three with 4:59 left to tie the game at 54-all.
The Gauchos pushed ahead 57-54 on two free throws by Shaw and another by Smith.
Santa Barbara, to their credit, made us earn it,” UCI coach Russell Turner said. “They put a really big run on us in the second half, but our guys stayed together and made the plays to come out on top.
“That’s exciting because it’s hard to do that this time of year. That represents the belief that this group has in each other.”
The Anteaters got a putback by Evans and a steal by Jovan Jester that he fed to Dixon for a layup and a 59-57 lead. Jester finished with 13 points.
“We played well at the end, making big plays, getting stops, and that’s pretty much it,” he said. “I just think we came with an edge today.”
Hosana Kitenge, who led UCSB with eight rebounds, lost his footing — and then the ball — while driving to the basket on the Gauchos’ next possession.
Henry converted the turnover with a baseline jumper and then two technical free throws.
Sensley’s long three reduced UCSB’s deficit to 63-60 with 14 seconds left.
Tama Isaac sealed Irvine’s victory, however, with a free throw with 4.4 seconds on the clock.
The Gauchos will conclude their regular season on Saturday at 6 p.m. with a Senior Night against UC San Diego.
“We’ve got a week to prepare, and we’ve really got to home in on getting better,” Pasternack said. “That’s all you can do and get ready for the conference tournament.”