UC Santa Barbara gave away more than just blue shirts at the start of Wednesday’s Blue Out basketball game at the Thunderdome.
Texas El Paso seized a 15-point lead by clawing out 10 Gaucho turnovers in the first 16 minutes of a game it would hold on to win 79-76.
“I thought our guys fought back, fought back … but that first four minutes, they shocked us,” UCSB coach Joe Pasternack said. “They punched us in the face.”
The loss was the first of the year for the Gauchos (4-1) and the first road win for the Miners (3-1).
UTEP’s man-to-manhandling defense had forced the second-most turnovers per game in the nation (21.7) entering the contest. The Gauchos eventually settled down, finishing with 16 turnovers, but the Miners had dug their hole too deep.
“Defense travels, toughness travels, and I thought there was no question that we were the tougher team tonight,” UTEP coach Joe Golding said.
He got no argument from Pasternack. Although UCSB outrebounded the Miners 39-22 and shot 50% overall, he wasn’t happy that UTEP made 50% of its three-pointers (11-for-22) and shot 49.1% overall.
“We had breakdowns, we got driven,” he said. “You have to be able to guard your man … We didn’t do a very good job of that tonight and they just broke us down.
“They were tougher than us. That was the pitiful thing.”
Center Kenny Pohto led UCSB with a double-double of 21 points and 10 rebounds while guard Jason Fontenet II added 20 points and eight rebounds.
They combined to make 13-of-16 free throws against a Miners’ defense that slapped, bumped and grabbed on each possession. UTEP committed 24 fouls to the Gauchos’ 14 but its physicality took a toll on the Gauchos.
“It’s just how the game is, you have to play through it sometimes,” Pohto said. “Sometimes you’re not going to get the calls, so you just have to have the attitude of ‘next play,’ and just keep going.”
The Miners’ trapping defense forced six turnovers in the first 6½ minutes alone. UTEP took a 16-4 lead behind a pair of three-pointers by Devon Barnes. He led all scorers with 23 points.
“We knew that was what they were going to try to do, but I guess they still just came out and shocked us,” Fontenet II said.
Corey Camper Jr. got four of the Miners’ nine steals and scored 13 points.
Point guard Stephan Swenson finally solved UTEP’s double-team defense. He set up Cole Anderson for a pair of threes that drew UCSB to within 19-12.
Fontenet, the Gauchos’ leading scorers on the season with a 15.8-point average, added two outside jumpers of his own which included another three that Swenson assisted.
Deuce Turner then found Anderson on a backdoor cut to trim UTEP’s margin to 22-17.
But Otis Frazier III outscored the Gauchos all by himself, 11-2, in the next two-plus minutes.
He followed up two threes by muscling in a putback. He then mauled Swenson at halfcourt for a steal that he converted into a three-point play and a 37-22 lead.
“We weren’t prepared for it,” Pasternack said of the defensive aggression. “You can’t simulate them in practice, of how they play.”
Frazier finished with 21 points and four blocked shots.
UCSB went on a 10-0 run to get back in the game at the end of the first half.
Swenson took over in the last two minutes. He sandwiched his own scoring drive by assisting layups by Fontenet and Pohto to draw the Gauchos to within 37-32 at the break.
“We’ve got great chemistry,” Pohto said. “My teammates did a great job of finding me in the post.
“I’ll pass it to them, too, so it’s a mutual understanding that I’ll come back out to them, and that opens up the floor for everybody.”
Swenson had five assists in the first half. He flipped his role from facilitator to scorer in the second half, getting 13 of his 17 points while adding one more assist.
He made back-to-back threes and hit a mid-key fadeaway in the first seven minutes of the second half. A free throw by Koat Keat Tong drew UCSB to within four points, 49-45.
But the Gauchos couldn’t get within one possession of the Miners until Swenson’s three at the final buzzer.
Ahamad Bynum scored 12 points in a four-minute outburst that got UTEP’s lead up to 14 points, 64-50, with 7:43 left.
Fontenet and Pohto combined for UCSB’s next 19 points to slice 10 points off its deficit.
Chris Mitchell came off the bench to get a quick steal that Pohto converted into a layup, getting the Gauchos within 73-69 with 33.5 seconds left.
“Give our guys credit, this is a tough place to play,” Golding said. “Many people don’t come in here and win.
“They had a great crowd that got into it a couple times, but we mostly kept them quiet. It’s a big-time win for us.”
The Gauchos got a tough break at the end when Swenson was called for a foul after Barnes ran directly into him while trying to break the full-court press. The Miners held UCSB at bay by making 6-of-8 free throws the rest of the way.
“We want to win every game but it’s good to take this loss because we know what we have to work on,” Fontenet said. “We can’t be comfortable. We’ve got to keep working and just be better every day.”