The UC Santa Barbara men’s basketball team opened its season on Monday with an 85-55 victory over San Francisco State at the Thunderdome, driven largely by performance from the bench, as Noozhawk reported.
Head coach Joe Pasternack opted to sit his starting unit for a significant portion of the matchup, relying heavily on reserve players who scored 55 of the team’s total 85 points. Pasternack explained after the game that the rotation was driven by a desire to maintain a high level of competition on the floor, noting that players who fail to bring sufficient effort will be subbed out for teammates willing to play hard.
Marvin McGhee IV led the reserves in overall efficiency, contributing nine points, six rebounds, and five assists across 15 minutes of action while making 3-of-4 shots from the field, including two three-pointers. Pasternack praised McGhee's effort, noting he coaches him relentlessly every day and was pleased with his complete performance. McGhee, reflecting on the team's potential following an 18-14 record and an 11-9 conference mark last season, pointed to added size and defensive interior presence as key improvements.
Among those interior newcomers is Eric Dibami, a 6-foot-10 sophomore transfer from Florida International, who posted 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting and recorded two blocked shots in 14 minutes. Despite Dibami’s scoring efficiency, Pasternack sat the starting center for 26 minutes due to rebounding concerns, stating that pulling down just three rebounds at his size was unacceptable and an area that must be corrected.
In Dibami's place, Texas transfer Declan Duru logged 17 minutes and brought high energy to the court, grabbing a team-high seven rebounds—including six on the offensive glass—and dishing out three assists. Pasternack highlighted Duru’s hustle as one of the standout aspects of the night.
Other key contributions came from New Mexico transfer Antonio Chol, who led all UCSB scorers with 13 points. Point guard RJ Smith, a transfer from DePaul, added nine points and four assists, while freshman Jordan Charles played the final eight minutes at point guard and chipped in seven points. Dibami noted that the point guard group, which also features Finland national team player Miro Little, offers strong shooting, passing, and court intelligence.
During the contest, the Gauchos initially fell behind 5-0 before responding with a 16-3 run over five minutes, capped by free throws and a hook shot from Dibami. San Francisco State cut the margin to 19-17 behind a three-pointer from Achill Woodson, who led the Gators with 14 points. However, Dibami helped push the lead back out with a foul shot and a layup off a lob from Smith.
UCSB overcame an initial 0-for-4 cold streak from beyond the arc when Chol hit a corner three off a drive by Little. The Gauchos finished the night shooting 50 percent overall and 36.8 percent from three-point range (7-for-19). They held the Gators to 40 percent shooting overall and 21.1 percent from distance (4-for-19). UCSB also built a 41-26 halftime lead largely at the foul line, making 16-of-21 free throws as San Francisco State committed 14 of its 25 personal fouls in the opening half.
Early in the second half, McGhee set up Dibami for consecutive baskets, including a dunk, and Little set up Aidan Mahaney for a three-pointer before hitting one himself. The Gauchos assisted on 18 of their 28 total field goals.
After UCSB extended its lead to 56-29 on a spinning floater by Smith and a three-pointer by Chol, San Francisco State mounted a late push. The Gators went on a 14-2 run over six minutes, aided by four steals in 50 seconds from Dontre Johnson, who finished with a game-high six steals. Johnson scored a layup and two free throws to bring the Gators within 58-43 with 9:52 left in the game.
Pasternack stated that the Gauchos briefly took their Division 2 opponent too lightly during that stretch, which led to five of their 12 total turnovers. UCSB halted the rally when McGhee sank back-to-back three-pointers off passes from Smith and CJ Shaw, pushing the advantage back to 21 points. Smith added another three-pointer a minute later to make it 67-44.
UCSB ended the game outreboundsing San Francisco State 40-33. The Gauchos now prepare to continue their home stand at the Thunderdome with a game against Oakland on Saturday at 1 p.m., followed by a matchup against Mountain West Conference opponent Nevada the following Wednesday.
