Sherine John / Daily Nexus
UC Santa Barbara lost a heartbreaker of a home match against the California State University, Northridge Matadors on Jan. 30, coming up short 78-71.
UCSB started out slow, as California State University, Northridge (CSUN) was locking down the paint and not allowing much penetration, leading to misguided kick-out passes and missed three-pointers. CSUN started out hot from the three-point line, knocking down two of their first three attempts from beyond the arc.
Despite briefly gaining the lead on a dunk from senior forward Ariel Bland, the Gauchos found themselves in an early 21-13 hole. A shot fake into a jump shot followed by a tough three-pointer by CSUN’s sophomore forward, Marcus Adams Jr., extended the CSUN lead to 10 points halfway through the first period, deflating the crowd. However, an offensive rebound leading to a wing three-pointer by UCSB’s electric graduate student guard Stephan Swenson, brought some life back into the building, as the Gauchos were beginning to hit more of their jumpers assisted by outside passes. Soon, the Gauchos found themselves in the bonus, as they cut into the Matador lead. They ended the half 8-8 from the free throw line, while the Matadors sat at 2-5.
The Matadors snuck into the half with a narrow two-point lead, as the Gauchos just wouldn’t go away. Swenson hit a huge three-pointer to tie it with just over one minute left on the clock, though the roaring crowd was temporarily silenced by a quick Matador layup in response.
As the second half began, it felt like anybody’s game. Sharpshooting from graduate forward Max Murell had the Gauchos looking impressive early, giving them a 51-50 lead early into the period.
As it seemed both teams were struggling to get something going, CSUN junior guard Scotty Washington hit a huge momentum three-pointer to put the Matadors up by six. Just as the Matadors seemed to be running away with it, an electrifying series of an emphatic Bland block immediately followed by sophomore guard Jason Fontenet II’s tough layup and a forced turnover for the Gauchos sent the building into a frenzy. This sequence cut the CSUN lead to five points and gave the momentum right back to UCSB. Senior guard Cole Anderson managed to tie it up from a three-pointer with just over nine minutes left, but the Gauchos subsequently put the Matadors in the bonus. With just a few minutes left, the Gauchos appeared to snag the edge on a massive bucket plus the free throw after a foul by Swenson, but subsequent defense and a turnover eventually brought the Matador lead to two.
From there, it was simply a matter of the Matadors crashing the glass and making their frees. The Gauchos had no answer for the timely offensive rebounds of their opponents and ended up falling short 78-71. For UCSB, positives could be found in Fontenet II’s extremely efficient 16 points — though it mostly came in the first half — and Anderson adding four three-pointers.
As for the result, the main difference maker was the offensive rebounds. The Gauchos had five offensive rebounds to the Matadors’ 16, and 17 less total rebounds. This isn’t a surprise, as CSUN is currently ranked No. 1 in the conference in offensive boards, with UCSB at No. 3 for defensive boards. UCSB also leads the conference in field goal percentage at 47.3%, so the Gauchos saw a below average shooting night as they rang in 43% against the Matadors.
This loss will see UCSB move down to No. 5 in the Big West standings. The Gauchos will be back in the Thunderdome again on Feb. 8, facing off against the Hawai‘i at Manoa Rainbow Warriors at 7 p.m.
A version of this article was printed in the Feb 6. edition of the Daily Nexus
