Derek Peng / Daily Nexus

The UC Santa Barbara Men’s Basketball delivered a resounding victory over the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Mustangs on Feb. 27, winning 96-77. The crowd was electric all night, with a completely full student section urging the Gauchos to their dominant win. Head Coach Joe Pasternack said after the game, “The crowd was incredible; the community and the students really fueled us.”

The Gauchos win was largely a team effort, with six players scoring in double digits and the starting lineup combining for 65 points. Sophomore guard Jason Fontenet II was the star of the show, scoring 19 points on an extremely efficient 73% from the field and adding four steals. As a team, the Gauchos were incredibly efficient, shooting 54% from the field and an incredible 50% from the three-point line on 28 attempts. 

Defensively, the Gauchos were able to hold Cal Poly’s number 1 ranked scoring offense to a rough night from beyond the arc. The Mustangs were only able to knock down 7 of their 30 3-point attempts, largely due to the Gaucho’s impressive perimeter defense forcing the Mustangs to take shots out of rhythm. Though Cal Poly struggled a bit offensively, a bright spot came for them in the form of Senior guard Owen Koonce’s 23 points. 

The first half was pretty even, with the Mustangs and Gauchos trading the lead back and forth early. UCSB gained steam towards the end of the half and went into halftime up 47-42. In the second half, UCSB began to pull away, making quick work of the Cal Poly defense. The defining moment came on a 3-pointer from graduate guard Stephan Swenson to put the Gauchos up 19 with four minutes left, icing the game. Swenson would add 10 points and 8 assists despite only playing 23 minutes. 

This win will see the Gauchos improve to 19-11 overall and cement their spot at fifth in the Big West conference. They will take on UC Irvine next at the Thunderdome on Mar. 8 at 7 PM.