UC Santa Barbara’s Stephan Swenson Beats the Buzzer to Defeat UC Riverside 66-63

For the second time in as many games, Stephan Swenson lifted the UC Santa Barbara men’s basketball team to a Big West Victory with a game-winning shot as the buzzer sounded.

Swenson has shown the ability to come through in the clutch throughout his collegiate career and has turned it up a notch in his first season as a Gaucho. His three-pointer broke a 63-63 tie and gave the Gauchos a 66-63 victory over UC Riverside on Thursday night.

“We are trying to find a way to play for 40 minutes, that’s the key,” said Pasternack. “The first half was tough for us, but our defense kept us in it. In the second half we got more comfortable and played really well.”

The Gauchos outscored UC Riverside 43-35 in the second half to overcome a 28-23 halftime deficit.

Swenson displayed similar heroics in the Gauchos’ 75-72 victory on the road at Cal Poly on Saturday January 11.

With the victory over UC Riverside, UCSB improves to 12-5 overall this season and 4-2 in Big West Conference play. The Gauchos will host UC Davis on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m.