College Basketball : Santa Barbara Silences Glendale

Coming off a big Western State Conference victory over Ventura College last weekend, Glendale Coach Brian Beauchemin expected good things from his team Wednesday night.

“We’re playing well,” Beauchemin, “I think we should be competitive tonight.”

Unfortunately for Beauchemin, Coach Newton Chelette of Santa Barbara held a pregame battle cry of his own.

“I told my guys before the game that if we shoot well, we could get the job done,” Chelette said.

Chelette’s players took his words to heart. Ernst Paul scored 27 points, Avery Risen added 25 and Dylan Nash 14 to lift Santa Barbara to a 79-71 victory at Glendale.

Trailing, 43-37, at halftime, Glendale crept to within 57-53 on a pair of Alex Berry free throws.

Nash, however, helped defuse the Glendale rally with a no-look pass that resulted in a basket for teammate Pat Susemihl, and when Risen converted a 3-point shot a minute later, Santa Barbara had regained control of the game.

Dave Swanson did all he could to keep Glendale (15-10, 6-4 in conference play) close, scoring a game-high 29 points, but the speed of Santa Barbara (10-14, 11-6) proved decisive.

“My guys hustled out there tonight,” Chelette said. “If our shots fall, we can play with anyone in our conference.”