Neo Harter
Contributing Writer
Credit: Jeff Liang https://www.instagram.com/jeffliang.photography/?hl=en
Led by Cole Anderson, Stephan Swenson, and Kenny Pohto, the UC Santa Barbara (UCSB) Gauchos walked off the court on Thursday night (Jan. 16) with yet another victory, this time over the Highlanders from UC Riverside.
The hard-fought victory adds to the excitement of a five-game win streak, a trend that speaks to the general success of the season. With a record of 12-6 overall, UCSB holds an exciting fifth place spot among the ranks of the Big West Men’s Basketball League. First and second places are held by UC Irvine and UC San Diego, respectively.
Thursday night’s win was not an easy one. With the offense taking awhile to warm up, evidenced by 11 minutes of no scoring in the first half, it was only the strong defensive performance that kept our Gauchos in the game. Head coach Joe Pasternack expressed similar concerns in a statement that he issued with the Santa Barbara Independent, saying “the first half was tough for us,” with the offensive performance lacking, leaving plenty of slack for the defense to pick up. The weak performance in the first half of the game left the crowd in low spirits, with many spectators becoming more excited about the free merchandise that someone in a blue bodysuit threw out during breaks than the game itself. Even I, a reporter on the game, started to lose my sense of focus.
The second half, however, was a different story. Our Gauchos definitely demanded attention after returning to the court from a halftime hype-up. Whatever head coach Joe Pasternack said during that break worked, seeing as the Gauchos stepped up to the challenge by quickly closing the point deficit, and, in the final minutes, taking the lead. As a matter of fact, most of the Gaucho’s 66 points were scored in the second half, with an impressive 51 percent of shots being made after stepping back on the court from the break. The energy from the crowd picked up as well. The seats started to fill up, the cheers got louder, and the stakes grew higher.
Although our Gauchos had increased the pressure and quickly chipped away at their lead, the Highlanders managed to hold on. Only down by three points, a spontaneous three-pointer made by Barrington Hargress, a 6-foot guard for the Highlanders, tied it all up.
This strike left the scoreboard flashing a daunting score of 63-63, tie game. Then, with four seconds left on the clock, the stunningly quick response made by Stephan Swenson, UCSB’s star Belgian guard, resulted in a buzzer-beating three pointer.
This isn’t Swenson’s first go around. The Kid is responsible for the 75-72 win at Cal Poly on Jan. 11, also after a 30-foot step-back three pointer that left Swenson’s left hand with just 0.1 second on the clock. Swenson’s move from Stetson University to UCSB was a good one, seeing as he has established a strong presence within the ranks of the Big West. He has saved UCSB twice now, and is expected to keep up with the heroics as the season progresses. His skills will definitely be needed in future games. Good luck, Gauchos!