Junior forward Colin Smith cashes in a three and celebrates. Courtesy of UCSB Athletics
UC Santa Barbara is starting to string together wins when it matters, with their 83-69 win over the California State University, Fullerton Titans on Saturday, Jan. 31 giving them their sixth consecutive victory. The Gauchos never trailed against an uncharacteristically sloppy Titans team, and several players hit double digits once again on their way to a comfortable victory.
Junior guard Miro Little scored the first 4 points for the Gauchos as they tried to find a flow on offense, but the level of play was sloppy for both sides as they combined for 7 turnovers in the first six minutes of the first half. One of the difference-makers for the Gauchos was the versatile junior guard Marvin McGhee IV, who is increasingly coming into his own in Head Coach Joe Pasternack’s system. After not playing much the last couple games, McGhee made an instant impact in his first few minutes of action against Fullerton, registering a steal, block and 5 quick points to give the Gauchos a 19-9 lead at the 11-minute mark of the first half.
“The last two games I barely played, I don’t get mad at nobody, I’m just ready,” McGhee said when asked about finding consistency this season. “I stay ready. I keep doing what I do everyday, like being in the gym, getting shots up, stretching, all the small things, I just do it everyday no matter what.”
The Gauchos finished the half strong, taking a 38-29 lead into the second period. With both teams finding their shooting strokes, the second half was played with more pace. Fullerton shot better from the field overall than the first half but regressed from beyond the arc, hitting just two 3s compared to 7 in the opening frame. The Gauchos continued to capitalize off of the slew of turnovers the Titans gave up; entering the game, the Titans led the Big West Conference with a 1.40 assist-to-turnover ratio, but the Gauchos snagged 15 takeaways from Fullerton Head Coach Dedrique Taylor’s men, scoring 25 points off of them on the other end.
The Gauchos stayed vigilant in the second half, with defensive stops at crucial moments halting any Fullerton comeback attempts. The lead was kept until the final buzzer, and the 83-69 win left the crowd satisfied with the team’s improvement from their 11-point loss to the Titans on New Year’s Day.
Pasternack’s squad won the rebound battle by a landslide, 40-26, with sophomore guard Zion Sensley getting his sixth double-digit rebound game of the season with 10 boards to go along with 9 points and a steal. Freshman guard CJ Shaw led the team with 17 points and 3 steals, while McGhee put up 14 points with 9 boards. Junior forward Colin Smith and Little chipped in with 13 and 12 points, respectively, with Smith cashing in every shot he took on the night.
“Colin [Smith] is becoming a versatile player, not just a 3-point shooter. We want him attacking, and he’s doing a great job at that,” Pasternack said after the game.
It speaks to the team’s strengths that the four players who put up double digits during the game, Shaw, McGhee, Smith and Little, did not include the team’s leading scorer, senior guard Aidan Mahaney. This is a good sign for the team as the season wears on, with Pasternack stating in a postgame interview that the team is currently gaining depth. Having a balanced attack that can be supplemented by different players on different nights will be one of the keys to ending the season at the top of the Big West.
The Gauchos will now travel to UC Davis to take on the Aggies on Thursday, Feb. 5. The Aggies sport a 6-5 conference record, good for fourth in the Big West as they trail Santa Barbara by two games.
The Gauchos have vaulted back up the Big West standings after their three-game losing streak to start the month and now find themselves in a tie with the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa for second in the conference. They trail leaders UC Irvine, who they will play back home this Saturday in what is shaping up to be the game of the season so far for this Gaucho team.
