Fullove, Gauchos get revenge
Revenge.
The University of California Santa Barbara men’s basketball team was able to get just that as the Gauchos defeated Utah State 62-50 Thursday night in Santa Barbara, Calif., to avenge an earlier loss to the Aggies.
Midway through the second half , in the midst of rebounding from a 13-point defecit, USU guard Ronnie Ross hit a three-pointer from the left corner to bring the score within two points.
Away from the ball, along the baseline, Nate Harris was called for an illegal screen. Ross’s basket did not count. The Gauchos regrouped with an 8-2 run, putting the Aggies away for good.
“We had the momentum going, but I guess it took a lot of energy out of us just to get it back to three,” said sophomore forward Spencer Nelson.
The Aggies came out fast against the Gauchos and led early in the first half by seven points. But USU did not hold its lead for long. After trading points for a short stretch, Santa Barbara began to pull away.
Defensively, Santa Barbara’s full court pressure forced 13 Aggie turnovers throughout the game, and held Utah State to only 50 points.
“They’re picked to win the league for a reason,” said USU Head Coach Stew Morrill. “They’re a very good team.”
The staunch Gaucho defense kept every Aggie, except Nelson, in single digits. Nelson, who played poorly last week against Idaho, scored 16 points and brought down 8 rebounds.
“The guards did a great job of getting me the ball,” Nelson said, “I just wish I could have completed two or three more.”
For Santa Barbra, junior guard Branduinn Fullove lead the way with 22 points and 3 rebounds. Fullove, who said he was looking to redeem himself for his performance in Logan, provided 13 of Santa Barbra’s 28 second-half points.
Utah State senior forward and leading scorer Desmond Penigar was held to 1-for-9 shooting from the field, and was a non-factor on the defensive end of the court as well.
“When shots don’t go down, he has a tendency to get a little cloudy and not getting anything else done,” Morrill said. “When shots go down like they did in Idaho, then the other part of his game is pretty good. But he’s got to be stronger than that mentally and as a senior, when shots go don’t go down, find a way to help his team.”
Throughout the game, the Gaucho bench provided some key sparks. Freshman Josh Davis was 2-for-3 from behind the arc and finished with 8 points, while Junior forward Bryan Whitehead gathered 11 rebounds coming off the bench.
The defeat dropped Utah State into tie for first place in the Big West Conference with Santa Barbara. Both teams now hold a 7-3 record in conference play.
The Aggies will play a Cal Poly team on Saturday that is looking for redemption after a Thursday night 68-65 loss to Idaho.
The Mustangs fell to 9-10 on the season.
–acfalk@cc.usu.edu