Slow Start Dooms Gauchos in 79-76 Loss to UTEP

A brutal four-minute stretch to start the game was too much for the UC Santa Barbara men’s basketball team to overcome.

Visiting University of Texas El Paso scratched, clawed, and escaped the Thunderdome on Tuesday night with a 79-76  victory, giving the Gauchos their first loss of the season.

“That first four minutes, they shocked us. They punched us in the face,” said UC Santa Barbara coach Joe Pasternack. “I think sometimes human beings get comfortable, and we played very comfortable. We have been very comfortable the last three days, and that’s 100 percent on me to not allow anyone in this program to feel comfortable.”

The visiting Miners came out of the gate with impressive energy and effort, especially on the defensive end. UTEP leads the nation in steals, and by the time Corey Camper Jr. drove to the basket for an uncontested layup that increased the Miners’ lead to 12-2 at the 16:07 mark of the first quarter, the Gauchos had already committed four turnovers.

From that point forward, the Gauchos were playing catch-up. A three-pointer by Cole Anderson shrank the deficit to 19-12 with 10:22 remaining in the first half. 

Jason Fontenet followed with a three-pointer that cut the deficit to 22-15. Fontenet has taken a huge leap in his sophomore season and finished with 20 points, six of 11 shooting from the field and two of four shooting from three-point range.

The Miners shot well overall, especially from three-point range, and a long-distance shot by Otis Frazier III increased their lead to 32-22 at the 5:31 mark of the first half. Frazier finished with 21 points, five assists, and five rebounds. According to Pasternack, Frazier played like a future NBA wing.

A steal and fastbreak layup by Frazier increased the UTEP lead to 37-22, the largest lead of the game, with 3:54 remaining.

However, the Gauchos responded with their most impressive stretch of the game. UC Santa Barbara closed the first half on a 10-0 run beginning with two Colin Smith free throws and concluding with a basket inside by Kenny Pohto that cut the deficit to 37-32 with nine seconds remaining in the first half.

Pohto finished with his second consecutive double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds. He shot seven of nine from the field.

“Kenny played really hard. He has had back-to-back double-doubles,” Pasternack said. “He is doing his part.”

The Gauchos failed to carry over the momentum from the end of the first half into the second half. A three-pointer by Ahamad Bynum increased the UTEP lead to 55-45 midway through the second half.

The UC Santa Barbara deficit ballooned to 66-52 after two free-throws by Devon Barnes with 6:39 remaining.

However, the Gauchos put together a 10-2 run to make things interesting down the stretch. A Pohto layup cut the UC Santa Barbara deficit to 68-62 with 3:11 remaining.

The comeback was not to be, as Barnes swung the momentum back toward the Miners with a three-pointer on the ensuing possession that put the game out of reach with the Gauchos trailing 71-62 with 2:44 remaining.

The Gauchos (4-1) have five days off before hosting Eastern Washington on Tuesday, November 26.