The UCSB men’s basketball team bounced back from its first loss of the season in a big way, thrashing Chicago State, 81-50, at the Thunderdome Saturday in the first game of the Cerebro Sports Cali Jam and the first of a five-game homestand.
Santa Barbara improves to 2-1 on the young season while Chicago State falls back to .500 at 2-2.
UCSB’s sole loss came at Washington State last Monday, dropping the contest 73-65.
“We had a really, really tough start at Washington State, and they are a good team, a tournament team, but the first 16 minutes we were down 39-16 and during the last 24 minutes we outscored them 49-34,” coach Joe Pasternack told Noozhawk.
“So I thought the last 24 minutes of the game at Washington State our guys really competed, and we had a really good week of practice getting ready for today’s game and we responded.”
The Gauchos were as efficient as could be on Saturday, shooting 54% from the field, including 8 of 18 on 3-pointers.
“We want to play inside and out and get great 3-point looks,” Pasternack said. “We had very bad threes against Washington State. We took contested threes and just tough shots and we want to get more great looks. That is our offensive philosophy.”
The offense also did a better job moving the ball, leading to 20 assists. Junior guard Josh Pierre-Louis led the team six six assists.
“Josh is so explosive, he’s a great passer and we needed every one of them today,” Pasternack said.
Five players reached the double-digit mark in scoring for UCSB, with senior forward Amadou Sow leading the way with 13 points, four rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block.
Sow converted his only 3-point shot of the game.
Pasternack said Sow worked on his 3-point shooting during the off-season. He is 2 of 3 from beyond the arc thus far.
“What’s really nice to see is he’s really worked hard on his 3-point shot, and he hit one today,” said the coach. “For him to be able to show his versatility to be able to shoot from the outside, drive the ball and score in the post, we are going to need that from him this year.”
UCSB is also trying to find some more chemistry from its backcourt. The Gauchos are replacing three guards who graduated from last season, paving the way for Pierre-Louis, junior guard Calvin Wishart, junior guard Ajare Sanni and freshman guard Ajay Mitchell to step in and make big plays for the team.
“For us to get the rhythm and get experience of our guards and get them in sync, and get them some really good game reps is really, really important,” Pasternack said.
Wishart scored in double figures on Saturday, tallying 12 points to go along with three assists, three rebounds and three steals. He shot 4-5 from the field and 2-3 from deep.
“I relaxed a bit since the season opener and got back to a calmer state of mind, and just got back to hooping again, not thinking about it too much and just playing the game off of instinct,” Wishart said.
“I let the game come to me. I’m not going to force a bunch of shots in a game if they aren’t there. If they are, I will take them, but I am more someone that lets the game flow.”
Sanni finished with 10 points and Mitchell scored 10 points off the bench, going a perfect 3-3 from the field, including knocking down two shots from beyond the arc.
Pasternack said he hopes to get freshman guard Cole Anderson more minutes. Anderson played 10 minutes on Saturday, scoring five points, including one make from 3-point range.
“He’s a sniper, a great shooter, and we are going to need him in conference play, so getting him more minutes is going to be big,” Pasternack said.
UCSB took control of the contest early, making seven of their first 13 attempts and going on a 16-0 run to take a commanding 24-7 lead.
Defensively, Santa Barbara held Chicago State to just 28% shooting from the field in the first half and also forced eight turnovers.
Sanni led the way in the first half with eight points as the Gauchos took a 38-22 lead heading into the break.
In the second half, UCSB’s offense was more consistent, and the team outpaced Chicago State with a 16-6 run in the first seven minutes of the half.
The Gauchos shot 58% from the floor, 62% from deep and 83% from the charity stripe in the second half.
Overall, UCSB held Chicago State to just 28% shooting and forced 14 turnovers.
“For us, it’s just about getting better,” said Pasternack. “It’s such a cliche for coaches to say, but the only thing that really matters is Monday’s practice. We have to improve daily for us to be at our best when it matters.”
UCSB will host 0-4 Arkansas-Pine Bluff at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at the Thunderdome in the second and final game of the Cerebro Sports Cali Jam.