Overview:
Cole Anderson’s four three-pointers moves him into third place all-time at UCSB with 225 for his career
The stars were in alignment on Thursday for a showy night at UC Santa Barbara’s Thunderdome.
A healthier Jason Fontenet II and Colin Smith shined in the Gauchos’ 96-77 men’s basketball victory over Cal Poly before a raucous crowd of 4,000 that included actor Michael Douglas, comedian Dennis Miller and Basketball Hall of Famer Jamaal Wilkes.
“Man, they gave us so much energy when we went on our runs,” Smith said. “It makes the game so much easier.
“Coach tells us not to celebrate, but when you’ve got a great crowd like that, you’ve got to look at them and do something really quick.”
The victory was the third in a row for UCSB (19-10, 11-7 Big West Conference), keeping it just one game behind fourth-place UC Riverside in the league standings with two games remaining on its regular-season schedule.
Fourth place is worth a first-round bye in the Big West Tournament.
“It’s that time of the season,” Fontenet said. “You’ve got to win every game, do-or-die, to get a great seed.
“We’ll take it one game at a time. We’ve got CSUN (Saturday at 5 p.m. at Cal State Northridge) and we’ll focus on that.”
Fontenet, a sophomore who has played through several injuries the last month, came through with his most complete performance since the league opener against UC San Diego.
He scored a team-high 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting which included 2-of-3 from three-point range.
“I’ve been banged up the past couple of weeks with the back, the Achilles … all these little things,” he said. “But today was like the first day I felt really, really good.
“It really helped me out there … just physically to able to jump, be more explosive, faster.
“When your body feels good, it makes a world of difference on the court.”
Fontenet also grabbed five rebounds, handed out four assists and made four steals.
“He’s the total package,” UCSB coach Joe Pasternack said. “He’s an incredibly tough young man who’s played through incredible pain and multiple injuries the last five weeks.
“But he’s feeling better and I think that’s really helped us.”
Smith, a 6-foot-8 sophomore transfer from Vanderbilt, added 13 points, six rebounds and three steals in 22 minutes of action. It’s the most he’s played since returning from an ankle injury three games ago.
He’s missed 14 games altogether, having also suffered a concussion earlier in the season.
“I’ve been trying to ease my way back in with a 15-minute restriction, a 20-minute (restriction) … and today was just as much as I could get to help the team win,” Smith said. “I think when I’m healthy, I can really make a difference on the court, offensively and defensively.
“I’m just excited to be back out here with my guys and trying to make that run.”
UCSB didn’t wait long to send Smith into the game. Less than three minutes had expired before he came off the bench to hit a three-pointer that put the Gauchos ahead 9-2. He added another three just before halftime for a 47-42 lead.
“Colin is a huge difference-maker for us on our team because he gives us so much,” Pasternack said. “He gives us rebounding, he can score inside, he’s a great post passer, and he can shoot the ball.
“He was terrific tonight. I thought defensively and rebounding, he really brought it.”
Cal Poly (11-18, 5-12), which had won five of its previous eight games, hung with the Gauchos through the first 31 minutes. Owen Koonce led the Mustangs with 23 points, Jarred Hyder scored 17 and Peter Bandelj added 14 with a team-high seven rebounds.
It didn’t help UCSB that point guard Stephan Swenson had to sit for nearly the last nine minutes of the first half after getting his third foul.
Deuce Turner did pick up the slack, however, by scoring 11 of his 14 points in the first half. He also had six assists.
Swenson made up for lost time in the second half, sinking a three in the first minute while on his way to 10 points for the game.
“I thought he did an unbelievable job,” Pasternack said. “He had eight assists to two turnovers in 23 minutes. He was spectacular.”
Fellow guard Cole Anderson, whose father played football for Cal Poly, helped expand the Gauchos’ lead to 71-56 by scoring 10 points in the first 8½ minutes of the second half.
He shot 6-for-9 overall and 4-for-6 from the three-point line to finish with 16 points.
“He had five threes against them the last time — 5-for-5,” Pasternack pointed out. “I called his dad after that game and said, ‘I’m not sure what it is, why he plays so great against Cal Poly.’
“I wish we played them every night for his sake.”
Anderson has shot well all season, improving his three-point percentage to .514. He’s just one three pointer short of the 2.5 per game average necessary to qualify as the nation’s most accurate three-point shooter.
His four threes on Thursday increased his career total to 225, moving him past James Powell and into third place on UCSB’s all-time list.
Anderson is 18 behind Gabe Vincent, now of the Los Angeles Lakers, who holds the UCSB record of 243 three-pointers. Michael Bryson is second with 241.
Kenny Pohto added 12 points, making 5-of-7 field-goal attempts to increase his season percentage to .633. He also had six rebounds. Freshman Zion Sensley led UCSB with seven in just nine minutes.
The Gauchos out-rebounded the Mustangs 41-34 and out-shot them 54% to 42%. Cal Poly sank just 7-of-30 three-pointers while UCSB made twice as many (14-for-28).
“They play at the No. 1 pace in our league and are No. 2 in the country at speed,” Pasternack said. “It’s really impossible to prepare for in practice, you just don’t know what’s going to happen.
“It’s not like offensive sets beat you. You have to match up in transition because their three-point shooting is just an equalizer.”
Cal Poly got as close as 71-65 when Bandelj made a three with 8:49 to go. But Max Murrell countered with a three just 18 seconds later to ignite a 25-to-6 run in the next 6½ minutes.
Smith expects it to carry over to UCSB’s final two, regular-season games.
“We know that this is our last time together as a team,” he said, “so we want to have no regrets.”