Northridge Pulls Inside Job on UCSB for 78-71 Men’s Basketball Victory

UC Santa Barbara gave itself only an outside shot at beating Cal State Northridge in men’s basketball on Thursday.

The Gauchos settled for 36 three-point attempts — just two short of the school’s single-game record — while the Matadors took the inside track to their 78-71 victory at the Thunderdome.

“We got out-toughed and out-physical-ed,” UCSB coach Joe Pasternack said. “We got totally manhandled on the boards.

“That’s on me, 100% Joe Pasternack. I’m soft … and my team is soft because I’m soft.”

The Matadors out-rebounded the Gauchos 42-25 while reclaiming 16 of their own misses. They also out-scored UCSB 38-8 in the paint.

“We knew they’re a tough crashing team … one of the best in the league,” Gaucho guard Jason Fontenet II said. “Our focus was boxing out, but we just didn’t do it.”

The loss was the third in the last four games for the Gauchos (13-8, 5-5 Big West Conference), dropping them into sixth place in the league standings. CSUN (14-7, 6-4) used its third-straight win over UCSB to move into a tie for fourth with UC Davis.

“With such a talented team like Santa Barbara, we knew we had to give our best effort on the defensive end, and I think we did,” Matador coach Andy Newman said. “Our guys really responded, especially down the stretch.”

UCSB appeared destined to break the school’s single-game record for made three-pointers when Cole Anderson sank his fourth of the game with 9:20 to go.

The Gauchos were 15-for-26 from three at that point — just three away from the record of 18 set against New Mexico State during the 1995 season.

But they missed all 10 of the threes they attempted in the last nine minutes.

“We were in a position to win,” said Anderson, who finished with 12 points. “We gave up key offensive rebounds on the D end that just messed us up.”

Both he and Stephan Swenson, who led UCSB with18 points, added enough threes to their season totals to reach the threshold of 2.5-per-game to qualify for the NCAA Top 20.

Anderson made 4-of-8 and now leads the nation at 51.5% (53-for-103). Swenson, who sank 3-of-10 on Thursday, is 17th nationally at 43.9% (50-for-114).

But the Gauchos made only 7-of-15 shots inside the three-point arc during Thursday’s entire game.

Kenny Pohto, their 6-foot-11 and 240-pound center, was held to just two points in 32 minutes. He entered the game ranked ninth nationally with a field-goal accuracy of 63.7% but went 0-for-2 against CSUN’s double-teaming effort.

“They did a great job on him and we have to do a better job of getting him the ball,” Pasternack said. “But tonight he also had just three rebounds in 32 minutes.

“This is about rebounding, taking care of the ball, and competing at a championship level.”

CSUN frontliners Keonte Jones (12 rebounds and seven assists), Marcus Adams Jr. (18 points) and Mahmoud Fofana (12 points, nine rebounds) used their quickness and jumping abilities to nullify Pohto.

“They’re the most athletic team in our league, maybe the most talented team in our league,” Pasternack said. “But all we had to do was hit our man, block out, turn and face.”

A rare offensive rebound — Ariel Bland’s follow dunk — gave the Gauchos their only lead of the first half, 10-8.

The Matadors followed that with a 15-3 run to take a 23-13 lead.

UCSB shot itself back into the game from the three-point line. Fontenet hit back-to-back bombs and Swenson added another during a two-minute outburst that reduced the Gauchos’ deficit to 28-22.

Fontenet, who had failed to score in double figures in UCSB’s previous five games, made 6-of-10 shots to finish with 16 points. He was 0-for-8 from three in the Gauchos’ previous five games but connected on 4-of-7 on Thursday.

“I’ve just been keeping my confidence up,” he said. “It’s a long season and you’re going to go through ups and downs. I’ve been staying in the gym, (working with) the coaches, just sticking to it.”

It was either threes (four of them) or frees (8-for-8 foul shooting) for the Gauchos in the final 6:11 of the first half. They were enough to bring them to within 46-44 of the Matadors.

But Anderson felt they didn’t do enough to augment the 10-for-18 shooting from three.

“In the first half, we weren’t as physical as we should have been and we were kind of lackadaisical,” he said.

UCSB shot 54.2% in the first 20 minutes but finished at just 43.1% for the game.

The Gauchos’ first three baskets of the second half were all threes — two by Max Murrell and another by Anderson.

Swenson sat for nine minutes, however, after getting called for his fourth foul with 17:01 left in the game.

Fontenot kept the Gauchos within striking distance by scoring a runner — UCSB’s only two-point basket in nearly the first 15 minutes of the second half — and another three.

Anderson’s corner three on a fast-break pass from Ben Shtolzberg tied the score at 62-all with 9:20 to go.

It was the last three the Gauchos made, and it wasn’t for trying. Their 10 misses in the last nine minutes included a pair of air balls from Swenson, whose long stretch on the bench cooled his touch.

“It was a neck-and-neck game so I kept him on the bench and put him in with eight minutes to go, but I probably should’ve put him in earlier,” Pasternack said.

Swenson flipped the script by taking the ball to the rim on four straight possessions to score nine points. His three-point play put UCSB ahead 71-69 with 3:02 left.

But the Gauchos wilted in the clutch. They missed their last five shots — four from the three-point line — threw two passes to the Matadors, and meekly surrendered a pair of offensive rebounds that led to four free throws for the Matadors.

Adams had little trouble scoring seven points in the last six minutes. They included a driving dunk which knotted the score at 71-all with 2:21 left.

Jones then intercepted Anderson’s pass to Pohto on the post and fed P.J. Fuller II for a layup and the lead.

The deflated Gauchos gave up two offensive rebounds — one off a missed free throw. Scotty Washington inflated the lead and capped his 21-point night by making three free throws.

“It was mainly just on us, just not boxing out at the end,” Anderson said. “We gave up a few key offensive rebounds toward the end that really were just back-breakers.

“We just have to fix that and we should be all right.”