ANAHEIM — UC Santa Barbara forward Jon Pastorek only had five points in Saturday’s Big West Conference Tournament championship game against the Long Beach State men’s basketball team, but three of them were priceless.
With 1:31 left to play, Pastorek drained a 3-pointer to give UCSB a 59-50 advantage over the 49ers, and much of the LBSU student section at the Honda Center then turned their backs to avoid watching the NCAA Tournament berth slip away.
The Gauchos won, 64-56, marking the second straight year that UCSB ended the The Beach’s tournament hopes.
“For our guys to want it so bad and not be able to do it, I feel for them,” 49ers head coach Dan Monson said.
UCSB (18-13) overcame a lackluster season by beating three teams — the University of the Pacific, Cal State Northridge, and LBSU — that swept the season regular-season series against them.
“Who would have guessed three weeks ago that we would be here?” UCSB head coach Bob Williams said. “I don’t know that you would have two people in our locker room who would have said we would be here.”
The 49ers (22-11) struggled shooting throughout the game. They finished at just 28.8 percent (19 of 66) including 23.5 percent (4 of 17) from the 3-point line. The team also missed 11 of 25 free throws.
But it was around the basket where LBSU’s struggles were most glaring. The 49ers grabbed 21 offensive rebounds but missed numerous opportunities within five feet of the basket.
“I just didn’t envision us struggling that much offensively,” Monson said.
The Gauchos, on the other hand, made 50 percent (26 of 52) from the field.
The loss cost the 49ers their first NCAA Tournament bid since the 2006-07 season. A regular-season conference title guarantees the ‘Niners a National Invitation Tournament spot, however. The selections for the NIT will be announced Sunday at 6 p.m. on ESPNU.
“We’ve had a heck of a year, we did a lot of great things this year,” Monson said. “But what makes college basketball special is: The NCAA Tournament is the measuring stick. And until you get to that, you’re not where you [want to be].”
Gauchos guard Orlando Johnson received his second consecutive Big West Tournament MVP honor. Johnson led all scorers with 23 points — 18 of which came in the second half.
“I just wanted to start making plays,” Johnson said. “And my teammates kept giving me the ball.”
Monson added: “Give him credit, Orlando Johnson got it done. You can only contain him for so long.”
Forward Jaime Serna contributed 14 points and eight rebounds for UCSB. Pastorek brought in 12 rebounds to go with his five points.
The Gauchos’ win was the first time a No. 5 seed won the Big West Tournament, and the lowest seed since sixth-seeded San Jose State did it in 1996.
Coming into the second half tied at 27, the momentum seemed to be in The Beach’s favor. A finger-roll layup by junior guard Casper Ware, coupled with a Eugene Phelps free throw, gave LBSU a three-point lead with 18 minutes to play — it would be their largest lead of the game.
The first nine minutes of the second half saw both teams teeter-totting with the lead. But a turnover by Ware was capped by a Johnson layup to put the Gauchos ahead, 39-36, and marked the beginning of 12-3 run that would be too much for the 49ers to overcome.
LBSU attempted to chip away at the UCSB lead, but only got as close six points — 56-50 — before the Pastorek 3-pointer sealed it.
Ware led the ‘Niners with 14 points, and junior guard Larry Anderson added 11 points and 12 rebounds. Plater also reached double-digit scoring with 10 points.
Junior forward T.J. Robinson chipped in nine points and 12 rebounds for The Beach.
The Gauchos opened up the game on a 12-4 in the first five minutes of play. After a slam dunk by UCSB’s Greg Somogyi, the 49ers found themselves down 19-9 with 12 minutes left until halftime.
“We just tried to do our work early, catch them off guard,” Serna said.
LBSU would not be discouraged, though, and proceeded to go on a 17-6 run over the next nine minutes to take a 26-25 advantage — its first lead of the game.
With the score tied, The Beach had an opportunity to send it into the break with a slight lead. Robinson was unable to capitalize on a left baseline jumper to leave the score tied at 27 going into the locker rooms.
“We just didn’t take advantage of the fact that we came back and tied the game at halftime,” Plater said.
Game notes
On top of Johnson, the other back-to-back all-tournament selections were UCSB’s James Nunnally, Ware and Anderson. The Gauchos’ Jaime Serna and Cal State Northridge’s Lenny Daniel also received all-tournament team honors.
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