Ward Sheds Redshirt at UCSB

B.J. Ward, former Santa Clara High guard who is a freshman at UC Santa Barbara, played 23 minutes in his college debut on Saturday, finishing with six points, two rebounds and one assist in a 62-49 loss to Stanford.

Ward was expected to redshirt this season, but a player suspension forced the Gauchos to use him immediately.

“He’s been very impressive,” assistant coach Marty Wilson said. “By far offensively and defensively, he’s the quickest guy we have. . . . He’s going to be a good one.”

Ward made all six of his free throws but missed all five of his shots.

“Everything was going so fast,” he said. “I was going, ‘I’m playing against the No. 9 team in the nation. I’m playing Michael McDonald, who I was watching on TV, and now I’m guarding him.’

“The first half was, ‘What do I do?’ The second half, I got more comfortable.”