Santa Barbara Shows Fullerton How to Keep a Lead

Perhaps mindful of what happened in their own arena last month, UC Santa Barbara clamped down on its lead against Cal State Fullerton Thursday night and didn’t let go.

The Gauchos, leading by seven points with 3:33 to play, hit 12 of 13 free throws down the stretch in a 75-70 victory over Fullerton in Titan Gym.

When the teams played in Santa Barbara last month, the Titans had an 11-point lead with 2:20 remaining, and then folded, missing six free throws in a row down the stretch and in overtime. Santa Barbara outscored them, 21-2, and walked away with an eight-point overtime victory.

Santa Barbara (17-6, 10-4 in Big West Conference) came into Thursday’s game having won eight of its last 10 games, with the only losses to Nevada Las Vegas and New Mexico State, both by two points.

Fullerton (12-11, 6-8) lost at home for the first time this season, breaking a 13-game home winning streak that started last season.

Led by Cedric Ceballos’ 27-point, 21-rebound performance, Fullerton again gave Santa Barbara trouble for a while. The Titans had a 41-38 lead in the second half after consecutive fast breaks led by Ceballos, who rebounded and then took control of the break himself, finishing one with a three-point play and dishing off on the other.

But Santa Barbara’s Carrick DeHart came back and settled things, hitting three three-point baskets in less than three minutes to pull the Gauchos ahead by eight points, 51-43, with nine minutes left.

DeHart finished with 20 points, and Eric McArthur, the nation’s leading rebounder, had 16 points and 12 rebounds.

Gary Gray’s 25-point performance, twice his 12-point average, was the key for Santa Barbara.

Fullerton’s Mark Hill, who had played the worst game of his career against Santa Barbara last month, did worse than that this time, going one for 11 and scoring a career-low three points.