Rainbows fall 64-61 to UC Santa Barbara in back-and-forth joust
The UC Santa Barbara basketball team withstood Hawaii’s frenetic comeback for Thursday night’s 64-61 victory in SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
A crowd of 3,187 saw the Rainbow Warriors regroup after being blitzed 15-0 in the second half to close to 62-61 on forward Gytis Nemeiksa’s layup with 3.3 seconds to play. Nemeiksa fought through traffic, but was not awarded the and-1 shot.
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After a timeout, UCSB point guard Stephan Swenson was fouled on the inbounds pass with 3.2 seconds to go. In the chill of the arena, Swenson coolly buried both free throws for the 64-61 margin.
The ’Bows worked the ball downcourt, but Nemeiksa’s parting shot from 35 feet did not connect.
The ’Bows fell to 8-5 overall and 0-2 in the Big West. The Gauchos are 9-5 and 1-2.
Swenson, who did not play in the Gauchos’ last game because of an undisclosed injury, was listed as iffy. “We have an unbelievable (training) staff,” Swenson said. “They’ve been amazing. They’re with me for seven days a week, 24 hours. They got me back on my feet. Listening to my needs, using my resources, they put me back on my feet. It was great to play that many minutes (38:23) today.”
Swenson administered the hurt on the ’Bows, scoring 21 points on 7-for-16 shooting. He hit two 3s, swished five of six free throws, and made seven assists without a turnover.
“That environment,” Swenson said of the crowd. “Unbelievable environment. It’s one of the best in the country. Being able to live up to that moment and have fun, just feed off the energy of the crowd. There’s nothing better in college basketball.”
Of the Belgium native, UCSB coach Joe Pasternack said: “He was awesome. … He was terrific. He’s a true point guard.”
Swenson also was a key contributor when the Gauchos scored 15 unanswered points to turn a 38-36 deficit into a 13-point lead with 9:56 to play. Swenson sparked the surge by collaborating with Creighton transfer Ben Shtolzberg on back-to-back 3s. Swenson also had a steal, contributing to the ’Bows’ four turnovers during the roll. The ’Bows also missed their five shots.
“Honestly, it was miscommunication, running back in transition,” UH wing Ryan Rapp said. “Going into the game, we knew they like to get out and run and shoot transition 3s. We’ve been working on it all week. I don’t think we executed the scout good enough in that area. When they went on that run, they hit two or three back-to-back transition 3s, and that really got them going. It’s a game of runs. We’ve got to limit runs, and that’s what really killed us in the second half.”
The ’Bows were able to battle back, led by guard Rapp’s shooting and hustle plays. But the ’Bows were frustrated with the Gauchos matching their board work. The Gauchos had 11 offensive rebounds, one more than the ’Bows, but they sabotaged comeback spurts.
The ’Bows also were 3-for-14 on shots from behind the arc — they missed their five 3-point attempts in the second half.
“Hawaii’s a really good team,” Pasternack said. “They’ve had an unbelievable schedule. Eran (Ganot, UH’s coach) does an amazing job. It’s really hard to beat them. And our guys really played hard. That was the main thing.”
Swenon scored on a driving layup just ahead of the horn for a 31-28 lead at the intermission. Initially setting up on the wing or at the point, Swenson was in control of the Gauchos’ offense in the first half, scoring nine points and dishing four assists.
UH center Tanner Christensen produced 10 points in the first half, his first double-digit output in five games. He finished with 15 points.
In recent games, opponents often doubled UH’s 6-foot-10 post. In the first half, the Gauchos stayed true to a man-to-man, assigning 6-11 Kenny Pohto to guard Christensen, who was able to find points on spin moves and lead passes from guards Kody Williams and Marcus Greene. Half of Christensen’s first eight points came on rim-rattling dunks. Pohto also went to the bench after being assessed his second foul with 8:42 left in the first half. Pohto, a transfer from Wichita State, missed both of his first-half shots. Pohto finished with five points.
