A bye in the schedule last Saturday allowed the struggling UC Santa Barbara men’s basketball team to catch its second wind.
It led to the Gauchos’ second win of this week, 77-62, over league-leading Hawai’i at the Thunderdome on Saturday.
“We had lost three in a row,” UCSB coach Joe Pasternack pointed out. “Everybody counted us out … Everybody stopped talking to me, my wife, family … it was probably the lowest moment of my being in this business.
“It was DEFCON 7.”
But he bunkered down the Gauchos during the break to fortify his defense, and the result was the Rainbow Warriors’ sub-par, 41.5% shooting this Saturday.
“You have to go back to your roots,” Pasternack said. “The only thing I know is to just outwork people and grind, grind, grind and get our team to practice.
“Friday and Saturday, I thought we had unbelievable practices. I thought our guys really bought in to defense.”
The win moved UCSB (11-7, 4-3 Big West) into a four-way tie for third place in the league standings with UC San Diego, UC Davis and Long Beach. Hawai’i (13-4, 5-2) remains tied with UC Irvine for first place.
Senior Aidan Mahaney, who made just one basket in the Gauchos’ win at Cal State Bakersfield on Saturday, scored a team-high 17 in Saturday’s win. He made 6-of-11 shots which included 3-of-6 three-pointers.
But his entire week has been a major turnaround for Pasternack.
“He had two points in the Bakersfield game, but we would’ve had no chance to win the game if he wasn’t on the court for 35 minutes,” he said. “He competed at an incredible level, guarding a guy who had just scored 30 points in two out of three games for Bakersfield.
“He turned him over and was unbelievable guarding the ball.
“Offensively tonight he was terrific … and I think defensively he had another good game. This is about him coming here to become a complete player which he was not when he came here.”
Mahaney, a senior transfer from UConn, had a hand in each of UCSB’s first 10 points.
He assisted both a hook shot by Evans Kipruto and a three-pointer by Miro Little while adding a layup and his own three to the total.
Little, in his third game back from a foot injury, finished with 11 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals in 29 minutes of play.
A running hook shot by freshman Michael Simcoe gave the Gauchos a 12-3 led after 6½ minutes. The lead grew to 19-5 after another three by Mahaney.
UCSB shot 54.7% overall while making 7-of-18 three-pointers.
But Mahaney took more pride in helping Hawai’i miss 12 of its first 13 shots.
“My responsibility as a leader is to reflect the kind of team that coach wants out on the floor,” he said, “We have not been rebounding and playing defense as well as we need to win the league championship and get where we want to be in March.
“I take that upon myself to prioritize that end in the hope that our team will reflect it … and I feel like we have.”
The Gauchos swarmed the backboards as a team to out-rebound Hawai’i 32-28.
The Rainbow Warriors did rally to within 29-19 on a free throw by Isaac Johnson.
But when he missed the second foul shot, Mahaney took the outlet pass and fed Colin Smith with a fast-break basket that led to a six-point possession.
Johnson was charged with a flagrant foul for clubbing Smith as he made the layup. Smith made both free throws and then used the extra possession to score a floater off Zion Sensley’s pass.
Smith had scored six of his 10 points in a matter of just six seconds, inflating UCSB’s lead to 35-19.
The margin grew to 49-30 on Hosana Kitenge’s second basket of the second half.
The senior center, who has been coming off the bench for the last two games, scored 12 points on 6-for-6 shooting while grabbing five rebounds.
Sensley, who’s also now coming off the bench, added 11 points.
“We took Hosana out of the starting lineup after the UC Davis game because he got only one rebound,” Pasternack said. “I thought in the last two games, he’s done better.
“It’s not easy for a senior to get benched, but his attitude has been unbelievable, and his energy is contagious.
“He’s so passionate, and I just love guys who have that passion and motor to compete.”
Kitenge was happy to see Kipruto score the game’s first basket while starting in his place.
“It’s nice to see Evans out there killing it and doing his thing as well,” he said. “Whenever I get into the game, the most important thing is winning.”
Kitenge, a transfer from the University of Louisiana, said he’s rounding into shape after sitting out last season with a torn Achilles tendon.
“The whole summer, coach was giving me confidence … Aidan and my dad were giving me confidence,” Kitenge said. “It’s just about honoring the process and coming back to work on Monday.”
Three-pointers by Hunter Erickson and Isaiah Kerr fueled a 14-2 run that helped Hawai’i reduce UCSB’s lead to just seven points, 51-44, with 10:35 still remaining.
Kerr and Harry Rouhliadeff led the Rainbow Warriors with 13 points apiece.
But freshman C.J. Shaw scored his only two baskets in the next two minutes to kick-start a 17-4 run that sealed UCSB’s victory.
“We trust him a bunch,” Mahaney said. “He’s got swag, he’s got confidence … He’s cool, calm, collected well beyond his years.
“I really enjoy having a young dude like that because I remember when I was a young dude and I had an older dude looking after me.
“That kid is really special … He’s going to play basketball for a really long time and win us a lot of games this year and continue to help UC Santa Barbara as long as he’s in college.
“Really big props to coach for getting that kid here because he’s a big-time talent.”
The Gauchos will return to action Thursday with a 6 p.m., Blue-Green Rivalry home game against Cal Poly.