UC Santa Barbara’s starters keep dropping, but so did the free throws during Thursday’s Big West Conference men’s basketball opener.
Aidan Mahaney and Colin Smith combined to make 21-of-22 foul shots to hold off Long Beach State for an 84-77 overtime victory at the Thunderdome.
The Gauchos (7-2), who lost star point guard Miro Little to a leg injury late in the first half, pulled out the victory by making 24-of-29 free throws after the break (32-of-38 for the game).
“I thought our guys battled until the end,” UCSB coach Joe Pasternack said. “Every conference game is a battle — it’s a war — and I’m really proud of our guys’ resiliency without Miro Little.
“We had to adjust on the fly, and I’m really, really proud of our guys’ resiliency tonight.”
Mahaney picked up the slack for Little at point guard by making 11-of-11 free throws to finish with a season-high 26 points.
“It was everything to have someone with experience that’s done it before,” Pasternack said. “He also led us in rebounding (getting six, as did reserve guard Marvin McGhee IV).
“That’s some toughness for you.”
Smith, who scored all 18 of his points after halftime, said the Gauchos needed a team effort after losing Little, a national team player from Finland.
“Miro, he brings a little bit of everything … Defense, rebounding, passing the ball, scoring,” he said. “Having guys like Marvin McGhee and C.J. Shaw come in there and hold their own, having great minutes, is really helpful.
“They helped us finish off the game.”
Long Beach (2-7), which committed 30 fouls to UCSB’s 25, made 19-of-24 free throws. Freshman Gavin Sykes led the Beach with 24 points while Shaquil Bender added 19.
Little left the game for good with 4:57 remaining in the first half. The Gauchos were already without co-captain Jason Fontenet II, who missed his fourth straight game with a hip injury.
Pasternack said Little’s injury was “something in a lower-body extremity.”
“We’re trying to figure out what it is,” he added, “but the doctors didn’t want to take any chances with him and didn’t have him go back in.”
Smith accounted for eight of UCSB’s 17 points in overtime, which included a rare four-point play.
“When it’s your moment, you’ve got to do whatever you need to do to produce,” he said.
Zion Sensley made four three-pointers in the first half while scoring 12 of his 14 points. He hit a pair of them and McGhee added another as UCSB took a 13-10 lead after the first eight minutes.
The Gauchos, who scored just one more basket in the next six-plus minutes, needed two more threes by Sensley to get even at 27-all late in the first half.
The lead changed hands 17 times. Mahaney see-sawed UCSB back ahead, 31-30, with a step-back jumper just before halftime.
Sykes, who missed all six of his shots in the first half, scored his 24 points after the break by making 8-of-15 shots which include four three-pointers.
“He did a great job for them,” Pasternack said. “He took 21 shots.
“I thought we had some breakdowns in coverages where we didn’t do what we normally do.
“But kudos to them. They’re a good team. They’re a tough team to play against.”
Smith was also held scoreless in the first half while missing a trio of threes. He finally made one in the third minute of the second half.
Mahaney kept UCSB ahead, 43-42, with three baskets. They included his lone three of the night with 14:29 left. He also made 6-of-6 foul shots in the final 4½ minutes of regulation.
Shaw shared his point-guard duties after Little went down.
“Everybody has to step up,” Pasternack said. “Every team has injuries. There’s no excuses.
“It’s next man up, and that’s what we have to do.”
Sykes sent the game into overtime, 67-67, by curling off a screen to make a three from the top of the key.
Smith got some separation for the Gauchos midway through the five-minute overtime with a scoring drive and a four-point play on consecutive possessions.
“My shots weren’t falling early, so (Pasternack) told me, ‘Hey, just drive,’” Smith said.
“They can’t stay in front of me, so I was just trying to go to the basket as hard as I can,” he added. “If I get fouled, I get fouled … then I can knock down free throws when I get there.
“That kind of got me started.”
He made a three-pointer while getting fouled by Isaiah Lewis with 2:37 left in the overtime. His free throw boosted UCSB’s lead to 77-72. He went 10-for-11 from the line on the night.
Evans Kipruto, who took over at center after Hosana Kitenge fouled out, extinguished Long Beach’s last hopes with 4-for-4 foul shooting and a pair of defensive rebounds.
“I thought Evans made some huge, huge plays,” Pasternack said.
UCSB will return to the Thunderdome on Saturday to play Cal State Bakersfield at 6 p.m.