Gauchos upend ‘Eaters

Last-place UCSB comes through down the stretch to upset UCI, which sees two-game Big West lead halved.IRVINE -- The Big West Conference made changes to its postseason men’s basketball tournament format before last season in order to protect the teams at the top of the standings from being upset by those near the bottom.

Unfortunately for UC Irvine, those measures aren’t any help until next month.

Last-place UC Santa Barbara upset first-place UCI, 60-59, Thursday night.

The loss was not enough to knock the Anteaters (13-10, 9-2 in conference) from their Big West perch, as second-place Pacific (7-2 in conference), still trails by one game, due to having played two fewer Big West games.

But the setback, the product of more clutch field goals by the Gauchos (9-11, 2-6) than the ‘Eaters in the final four minutes, may wind up costing UCI the No. 1 seed.

Should Pacific and Irvine -- who split their head-to-head meetings -- wind up tied for first, the team with a loss to the team lowest in the standings would be the No. 2 seed.

Pacific’s other loss came to UC Riverside, which has three conference victories.

Thursday’s game might also have done wonders for Big West Tournament ticket sales, justifying the long-held belief of conference coaches that there are no mismatches in the eight-team alliance.

“That’s typical in our league,” UCI Coach Pat Douglass said. “On any night, any team can win.”

This was no ordinary night for either team, according to their coaches -- particularly late in the second half.

“Physically, we can play with anyone, but we have not competed well down the stretch,” UCSB Coach Bob Williams said. “We have not made plays with the game on the line.”

Said Douglass: “There are times in the past, when we have made shots down the stretch and we didn’t make them tonight. This game, it just caught up with us.”

UCI point guard Aaron Fitzgerald took over early in the second half. Scoreless in the first half, Fitzgerald made four straight shots in a four-minute stretch, including three three-pointers. His third three-pointer gave UCI a 43-37 edge with 13:33 left.

Gaucho senior guard Joe See answered with a pair of three-pointers within a three-minute stretch that helped produce a 54-48 UCSB lead with 3:46 left.

Fitzgerald, who finished with 17 points and a game-high eight assists, then penetrated and kicked to Nic Campbell for a three-pointer.

Four Fitzgerald free throws and an outlet assist to Darren Fells for a layup helped UCI take a 57-56 lead with 1:09 left.

But Cecil Brown’s double-pumping eight-foot floater gave UCSB a 58-57 lead with 44 ticks remaining.

After Fitzgerald missed a long three-point try -- a shot Douglass later said wasn’t what the staff wanted -- UCSB’s Glenn Turner followed a missed Gaucho free throw with a layup with 23 seconds left for a 60-57 lead.

Fitzgerald converted a quick layup and got the ball back when Michael Chambers missed the front end of a one-and-one with nine seconds left.

But with no timeouts, Fitzgerald, battling a double-team between midcourt and the three-point line, dribbled laterally until launching a desperation pass that was deflected away as time expired.

“They got the ball in the right guy’s hands,” Williams said of UCI’s final possession. “Fitzgerald is a great player. But it was nice to win a game by making a defensive play.”

UCSB, led by sophomore Chris Devine’s 18 points, halted a four-game conference losing streak.

Campbell had 11 points for UCI, which was outscored in the paint, 20-12.

Fells had eight points and nine rebounds for the Anteaters, who have three regular-season conference games left.

Big West Conference

UC Santa Barbara 60,

UC Irvine 59

Score by Halves