UCSB Lines Up NCAA Bid

Even in its heyday a decade ago, when Brian Shaw, Carrick DeHart and Eric McArthur regularly had the Thunderdome rocking and 20-win seasons were a common occurrence, UC Santa Barbara never won a Big West Conference tournament championship.

Remarkably, the Gauchos hadn’t reached a tournament final until Saturday night. Back then, the conference hurdles to clear were usually Nevada Las Vegas and New Mexico State.

Utah State is now the team other Big West schools need to get past, and on this night the Gauchos found a way to do just that. They laid it on the line, making clutch free throws in the final seconds to win the Big West title game, 60-56, and secure their first NCAA tournament berth in 12 years.

Before this season the Aggies had won consecutive tournament titles and three of four. And after a slow start Saturday night in front of 3,020 at the Anaheim Convention Center, they rallied in the second half in pursuit of their ninth consecutive tournament-game victory.

Reserve forward Mike Ahmad, a Glendora native, scored eight consecutive points in a 12-0 run to give Utah State a 46-43 lead with 10:46 remaining at press time. Ahmad, who averages only 3.2 points, took control inside while Santa Barbara went into a shooting slump for more than five minutes.

But Santa Barbara proved a worthy foe. Despite losing both regular-season meetings, the Gauchos were at the top of their game at the outset. Branduinn Fullove scored seven points in the first eight minutes. Nick Jones and Mark Hull, the team’s other top scorers, were able to make shots from the outside. Freshman walk-on Chrismen Oliver chipped in two baskets off the bench, while role players Mike Vukovich and Bray Skaltety provided valuable minutes.

Utah State has won 78 games the last three seasons and it showed why in the final minutes before intermission as the Aggies went on an 8-0 run keyed by Toraino Johnson’s two baskets and Desmond Penigar’s 15-foot jumper.

Still, the Gauchos led, 36-32, at halftime. They targeted their defense toward Utah State senior guard Tony Brown.

Brown, a first-team All-Big West selection, had a career-high 29 points in the Aggies’ semifinal victory Friday over Pacific. Santa Barbara sent two players at him throughout the half and he made only one of four shot attempts.

Santa Barbara put itself in position for a postseason berth for the first time since the 1992-93 season. The Gauchos’ last trip to the NCAA tournament was in 1990 when DeHart and McArthur led them to a 21-9 season and a first-round victory over Houston.

Bob Williams, in his fourth season as coach, has slowly rebuilt the program after it began to flounder in the mid-1990s.

The Gauchos earned their 19th victory--their most in 10 seasons--by defeating UC Irvine, 66-61, in the Big West semifinals Friday.

“It’s unbelievable,” said sophomore guard Jacoby Atako, whose free throws and key defensive play on Jerry Green finished off the Anteaters. “We felt we kind of underachieved this year and to finally beat UC Irvine was big.”

Beating Utah State was even bigger.