NORTHRIDGE — UC Santa Barbara showed up late again for an early afternoon tipoff in men’s basketball.
The Gauchos trailed by 14 points in the first five minutes for the second-straight game before losing 74-65 at Cal State Northridge on Saturday afternoon.
“I’ll look at my pregame speeches, and maybe I need to change that,” UCSB coach Joe Pasternack said. “At the end of the day, it’s on me.
“I’m the one responsible for our slow starts.”
The Gauchos (9-6, 2-2 Big West Conference) have lost four of their last five games. All four defeats came on the road, with each one featuring a horrendous start.
They trailed Wisconsin Green Bay 15-4, Utah Valley 12-2, and Cal State Fullerton 16-2 on Thursday afternoon. The Matadors were ready for their turn at UCSB, scoring Saturday’s first 14 points.
CSUN (9-7, 2-2) made five of its first eight shots, which included a three-pointer by Larry Hughes II.
UCSB missed its first nine shots — five from three-point distance — to fall behind 14-0 in the first six minutes.
“It really shows our inexperience when we start down 14-0,” Pasternack said. “We did the same thing at Green Bay and at Utah Valley.
“We come roaring back, and it’s not enough.”
Freshman C.J. Shaw, starting in place of injured point guard Miro Little, turned a steal into the Gauchos’ first basket at the six-minute mark. He led the Gauchos with 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting.
His defensive play spurred a 9-0 run which included layups by Colin Smith and Hosana Kitenge.
But UCSB went back to chucking up threes with little success. It went 0-for-7 from distance until Z.Z. Clark hit one from the corner with 7:35 left in the first half.
The Gauchos shot 6-for-30 from three (20%) in the game, with starters Smith, Aidan Mahaney and Zion Sensley combining to make just 3-of-20.
UCSB shot just 34.4% overall. Mahaney, UCSB’s leading scorer on the season with a 15.5-point average, made just 1-of-13 shots overall.
“We took really bad shots,” Pasternack said.
The 30 threes were the second-most that UCSB has attempted this season. It’s been topped only by the 34 the Gauchos threw up at Fullerton on Thursday.
The Gauchos rallied to within 23-21 when Sensley finally made his first three.
But UCSB scored just six points in the final 6:36 of the period to trail 34-26 at the break.
The Gauchos shot just 25.8% in the first half to CSUN’s 40.7%. Their five starters made just 4-of-24 attempts (16.6%).
Hughes scored 15 of the Matadors’ 34 points in the first 20 minutes and finished with a game-high 23.
“Credit to them, they have some really good players,” Pasternack said. “But at the end of the day, we have to grow up, and grow up quick. We’re in conference now.”
Shaw came alive to score 18 of the Gauchos’ last 34 points. He netted nine during a two-minute spree that whittled CSUN’s lead to just 50-47 with 7:24 remaining.
Back-to-back threes by Marvin McGhee IV and Sensley tied the score at 56-all with 5:26 left.
“I thought our guys really battled to get it to a tied game with a couple of minutes to go, and we just kind of rain out of steam,” Pasternack said. “We’ve got to figure this out, how to win on the road.
“When you turn the ball over 38 times in two games, you have no chance to win on the road because they lead to their transition.
“It really magnifies our inexperience on the court right now.”
McGhee produced 10 points and six rebounds off the bench. Fellow reserves Koat Keat Tong (seven points, six rebounds) and Clark (four rebounds, two steals) also provided bench production.
“A guy like KK, who didn’t play on Thursday, has the most amazing attitude because he’s just grateful to be here,” Pasternack said. “He’s grateful for everything that comes with being at UC Santa Barbara, and just plays really hard for the team and is unselfish.
“And I thought ZZ also did a great job coming off the bench and playing really hard.”
CSUN’s Josiah Davis made six free throws and a pair of baskets in the final five minutes to help fend off the Gauchos.
The Matadors took advantage of the Gauchos’ season-high 30 fouls — a total which topped the previous high of 27 committed on Thursday — to make 23-of-37 free throws.
“We have to be able to defend without fouling,” Pasternack said. “That’s been a huge problem this year.”
Stopping dribble penetration is a part of the problem. Although CSUN shot a miserable 3-for-18 from three, it also got deep into UCSB’s defense to make 21 of the 31 shots it took inside the arc.
The Gauchos settled for a trio of threes during a late, four-minute stretch and made none of them.
The Matadors responded with a 9-0 run to take a 68-58 lead with 55.1 seconds remaining.
“This is a team that’s got some guts and some character and that was really fun to see again,” CSUN coach Andy Newman said.
The Gauchos are hoping that Little, who has missed six games since injuring his foot against Long Beach State on Dec. 4, will soon return to help stop the team’s skid. They return home to face UC Davis on Thursday at 6 p.m.
“He’s going to practice this week,” Pasternack said. “Depending on how he does, the doctor will determine if he’ll be able to play or not play.
“We’re not there yet.”