Shaw Lifts UCSB Past UC Irvine : Engelstad’s Bombs Aren’t Enough for Anteaters, 83-77

UC Irvine’s Wayne Engelstad and UC Santa Barbara’s Brian Shaw, two of the Pacific Coast Athletic Assn.’s best players, did what they do best Saturday night.

The 6-foot 8-inch, 250-pound Engelstad, making big noise from outside, hit 7 of 11 three-pointers and scored 31 points. Shaw, a lean 6-6 guard, killed the Anteaters softly, scoring six points and grabbing a key rebound in a pivotal 1 1/2-minute stretch late in the game as the Gauchos rallied to beat Irvine, 83-77, in front of a standing-room-only crowd of 6,000 in the Campus Events Center.

The Anteaters (14-13 overall and 9-9 in conference) had a 64-60 lead with 7:24 remaining, but the Gauchos (21-6, 13-5) tied the score, 66-66, with 5:07 left. Shaw returned to the game with Santa Barbara ahead by two (68-66) and 3:21 remaining. He made both ends of two one-and-one free-throw situations and a 10-foot turnaround baseline jumper and, all of a sudden, the Gauchos were up by eight with 1:49 left.

Engelstad made a follow shot and two more three-pointers--one from almost out of bounds and another through a double-team defense--to make it interesting down the stretch.

But his game-long, one-man show wasn’t quite enough to eclipse the damage Shaw quietly accomplished in a handful of seconds with the game on the line.

“I was just giving Shaw a little rest to gain his composure and poise for the final three minutes,” Gaucho Coach Jerry Pimm said. “And he went in and grabbed control of the game.”

Still, it was Engelstad’s long-range shooting exhibition that grabbed the attention of everyone in the facility . . . especially Pimm.

“He just wouldn’t quit,” Pimm said, with a note of awe in his voice. “We had (Mike) Doyle on him because Eric (McArthur) had four fouls. But we had to get Eric’s long arms back on him quick. And that just forced him to make them from 40 feet instead of 35.

“Engelstad played his heart out and he really hurt us.”

Despite the Herculean effort, Engelstad wasn’t able to bomb Santa Barbara into submission. But Shaw was able to pull the plug on the Anteaters with inconspicuous finesse. Shaw finished with 14 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocked shots.

But who noticed?

Irvine Coach Bill Mulligan thought McArthur--and referee Lou Fuentes--were the big factors. He said Fuentes was a major reason why Santa Barbara got 31 free throws. Irvine shot just 11. Of course Fuentes had nothing to do with the fact that the Gauchos made 24 and Irvine hit just 5.

“McArthur hurt us defensively and Fuentes, well . . . “ Mulligan said, biting his tongue. “Santa Barbara played a very good game, though. They’re really well-coached and it shows. Hell, I don’t even know who their top scorer was.”

It was senior Brian Johnson, who hit 3 of 3 three-pointers in the first half and finished with 20 points on 6 of 9 field-goal shooting. McArthur (who also had 9 rebounds and 5 blocks) and Carlton Davenport scored 12 each, and forward Gary Gray added 10 points.

Balance is just one of the reasons the Gauchos will probably get an NCAA selection this season. The poise of Silent Shaw in the clutch is undoubtedly another.

Engelstad, who has not played all that well in Irvine’s last three games, will have to play like he did on this evening in the PCAA tournament, maybe even better, for the Anteaters to get a chance at postseason play.

“Sometimes, before a game you look at your teammates and you get a feeling,” Engelstad said. “I could have sworn we would win this game. I mean they’re a very good team, they’ve beaten (Nevada Las) Vegas twice, but they were only 5-3 in this place before tonight. They’re not invincible.

“And we played pretty well, well enough to win, I think. I don’t know what we shot in the first half (62% from the floor), but we were sticking it down pretty good. We just hit that one stretch late in the second half where the ball wouldn’t drop and we let up a little on defense.”