ANAHEIM — Maybe it was the bad omen from the poor national anthem singer who “Christina Aguilera”-ed her rendition before the game, as a friend told me just before tipoff Saturday night at the Honda Center .
But whatever it was, the Long Beach State men’s basketball team flubbed the script one too many times in a 64-56 loss to the now two-time defending Big West Conference Tournament champions from UC Santa Barbara.
“Everybody was kind of trying to do it themselves,” senior guard Greg Plater said as the Gauchos could be heard celebrating on the court with their fans.
There was Casper Ware, the conference’s clear-cut player of the year and heartbeat of an LBSU squad that was rescued so many times with his clutch play.
But there was Ware, forcing the issue — and trying to showcase a newfound 3-point touch that resulted in a 2-of-10 performance from beyond the arc — instead of patiently picking his spots like he has all season.
There was Brandon Nevens, a gritty energy player who cracked the 49ers’ thin, seven-man rotation with his hustle this season after an inspirational comeback from a kidney failure in September 2008.
But at the 6:05 mark in the first half and his team down 25-18, there was Nevens hoisting an ill-advised jump shot that resulted in a few not-so-nice words from head coach Dan Monson.
“We just could never relax and make shots,” Monson said. “I’m not sure we ever had any type of a run offensively, at all.”
Then there was the opponent itself.
UCSB came into the tournament much like LBSU had just last season. The Gauchos finished with a disappointing 8-8 record in regular-season conference play after heavy preseason expectations.
But UCSB found a second gear in the last three days that helped them defeat the University of the Pacific, Cal State Northridge and LBSU — all of which had swept the regular-season series.
Instead of receiving big performances from just the usual suspects, James Nunnally and tournament most valuable player Orlando Johnson, the Gauchos remixed their production with the likes of Jaime Serna and Jon Pastorek.
Serna finished with 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting to go with eight rebounds and tough interior defense. Meanwhile, Pastorek scored just five points, but none bigger than a dagger 3-pointer from the corner that extended the UCSB lead to 59-50 with 1:31 to play.
Sometimes, things just don’t go as planned — no matter how many prior rehearsals or games were completed before the bright lights turn on.
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