FULLERTON — The New Year brought the same old story for UC Santa Barbara men’s basketball:
A poor start and porous defense.
The Gauchos fell behind 16-2 in the first four minutes and never caught up in a 95-84 defeat at Cal State Fullerton on Thursday.
“You can’t dig yourself holes like this,” UCSB coach Joe Pasternack said. “We did it at Green Bay. We did it at Utah Valley.
“It’s a common theme. Our inexperience really showed.”
The loss was the third for the Gauchos (9-5, 2-1 Big West Conference) in their last four games.
“It was a tough way to begin the new year,” Pasternack said.
The Titans (6-9, 1-2), who were picked by the coaches to finish last in the league race, won for the first time in three league contests.
Fullerton forced UCSB into 11 turnovers in the first nine minutes. It took a 29-11 lead when Bryce Cofield dunked after a steal with 10:59 still left in the period.
The Titans’ largest lead of 21 points, 32-11, came just 36 seconds later on a three-pointer by Kiwane Garris. He finished with 18 points.
They led 50-36 by halftime after having scored 21 points off 13 Gaucho turnovers. UCSB finished with 24 turnovers altogether, leading to 42 Fullerton points.
“We weren’t ready for their break-neck pace,” Pasternack said. “These young guys, they’re learning what conference basketball is.
“Unfortunately, we are where we are. We’ve got to get ourselves off the mat here and respond.”
Aidan Mahaney led UCSB with 23 points, making 8-of-15 shots which included 4-of-11 threes.
But Fullerton drove at will through the Gauchos’ man-to-man defense to shoot 55.6% — 67.6% (25-for-37) from inside the three-point arc.
UCSB, which has suffered from a lack of rim protection all season, failed to block even one shot.
The Titans also drew 27 fouls to out-score UCSB 30-to-10 from the free-throw line.
“They do a great job of that,” Pasternack said. “That’s how they play. But we added to it.”
Jefferson De La Cruz Monegro made 14-of-14 foul shots to lead all scorers with 25 points.
The Gauchos rallied to within eight points, 67-59, after back-to-back threes by Hosana Kitenge and Zion Sensley.
Kitenge finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and six assists before fouling out.
Sensley contributed a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds. UCSB out-rebounded Fullerton 34-22.
The Gauchos were successful when they didn’t turn the ball over. They shot 52.6% overall and made 14-of-34 three-pointers (41.2%).
C.J. Shaw connected on 6-of-8 shots — 3-of-5 threes — to score 18 points.
But the freshman from Las Vegas, who was moved to the point guard position after junior Miro Little injured his foot six games ago, also had nine turnovers with just one assist.
“I put C.J. in a tough position tonight,” Pasternack said. “This is on me. It’s not his fault.”
He expects Little back in the near future.
“He’s actually really progressing well,” Pasternack said. “We’re just waiting on him to get in some good practices.
“We need him. He’s the head of the snake for us. It’s been really tough without him.
“Especially on the road, it’s been devastating.”
The road trip will take UCSB to Cal State Northridge on Saturday for a 1 p.m. game.
“We’ve got a quick turnaround here,” Pasternack said. “The guys have to step up to the challenge.”