Oh, so close.
UCSB missed a shot at the rim for the lead with 2.2 seconds left and suffered a 63-62 loss to fifth-seeded Creighton in the first round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at the Lucas Oil Stadium Unity Court in Indianapolis on Saturday.
Double-teamed on the left wing, All-American JaQuori McLaughlin managed to slip a pass to Amadou Sow in the paint. Sow went up against two defenders, but his shot rolled around the rim. Creighton rebounded and was fouled.
Shereef Mitchell of the Blue Jays missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw, and a desperation shot by Brandon Cyrus sailed over the backboard, ending UCSB’s first trip to the Big Dance since 2011 and a record-setting season.
No. 12-seeded UCSB (22-5) roared back from a 10-point deficit in the second half. The Big West champions went on an 18-3 run, capped by a McLaughlin three, to take a 58-52 lead.
But Creighton, the Big East runner-up, wouldn’t fold. The Blue Jays answered with a 9-0 run to take a 61-58 lead. On the go-ahead basket, the Blue Jays stole the ball, and All-American Marcus Zegarowski fed a cutting Christian Bishop for a reverse dunk and a 59-58 lead with three minutes left.
The Gauchos missed a pair shots and Zegarowski knocked down a two-pointer from the top of the key to put Creighton ahead by three, 61-58, with 1:31 left.
Sow finished an assist from McLaughlin to make it 61-60. The Gauchos then rebounded a Creighton misfire and Sow was fouled as he attacked the rim. He made both free throws to give UCSB a 62-61 lead with 37.9 seconds to go.
Creighton missed a shot to retake the lead, but Christian Bishop of the Blue Jays grabbed the offensive rebound and was fouled. A 67% free-throw shooter, he made both free throws for a one-point lead with 16 seconds left.
As he’s done all season for UCSB, McLaughlin created a scoring opportunity. The Gauchos, however, couldn’t finish this time.
“I was looking to come off and shoot it, but they were on me,” McLaughlin said of the double team by Creighton. “Amadou was wide open, so I made the right pass and he was right there. And he’s money in the paint.”
But he couldn’t cash in.
“We got a little lucky,” Creighton coach Greg McDermott said. “They missed a layup down at the other end. And it takes a little luck sometimes to advance in this tournament.”
“A couple of details down the stretch hurt us, but I was very proud of our guys’ effort,” UCSB coach Joe Pasternack said.
Bishop’s offensive rebound was a key play.
“I thought they had some key offensive rebounds that hurt us, especially that one at the end,” Pasternack said.
McLaughlin finished his last game as a Gaucho with 13 points and seven assists. Junior Miles Norris also scored 13 points and grabbed six rebounds; Sow, a junior, had 12 points and six boards; and senior Devearl Ramsey had 11 points.
The Gauchos shot 22 of 57 from the floor (39%) and were 5-21 on three-pointers. They were 4-12 in the second half.
Creighton was 26-58 (45%) from the floor and 7-25 on three-pointers.
Zegarowski led the Blue Jays with 17 points on 7-11 shooting, including a trio of three-pointers. Bishop had a double-double of 15 points (6-8 shooting) and 11 rebounds. Denzel Mahoney, who hounded McLaughlin most of the game, had 13 points.
UCSB led by as many as eight of the first half (23-15).
But Zegarowski got Creighton going. He sparked a 13-4 run with eight points in the last two minutes of the half to give the Blue Jays a 34-30 halftime advantage.
The honorable mention All-American hit a three-pointer in transition to give the Blue Jays a 27-26 lead and buried another to make it 32-27. He finished the half with a driving basket that he banked high off the glass just before the buzzer.
While it was a painful way to end the season, Pasternack said the game can’t define the kind of year UCSB experienced.
“Our players did just an amazing job off the court with the COVID and on the court competing for championships,” he said. “Being the first sole conference championship since 2003, getting a conference tournament championships, it was an unbelievable historical season for UCSB. And it’s a tough way to go down today.”
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.