Mustangs shock Gauchos in first round of Big West Tournament

It was just the first game, and already strange things are afoot at the Honda Center.

In what amounted to a huge upset, seventh-seeded Cal Poly withstood a 7-0 run from UC Santa Barbara to begin the game, led by as many as 30 points, and downed the Gauchos 69-38. The Mustangs, who scored more points in the first half (41) than UCSB scored all game, were paced by freshman point guard Ridge Shipley, who came off the bench to score a team-high 15 points.

For some reason, UCSB was a good matchup for Joel Awich this season. By Owen Main

“This is clearly a very special team and a very special game,” said Cal Poly head coach Joe Callero. “We didn’t do one thing. It is a testament to just be better, the game of basketball is a fair game. If you do everything well, magical things can happen.”

Four other Mustangs scored at least nine points and senior forward Chris Eversley, the team’s scoring leader all season, was held to just five points. Ten Cal Poly players scored in the game — nine in the first half. Cal Poly scored 41 points in the first half. The Gauchos managed just 38 the whole game.

“They punked us offensively and defensively the entire game,” said UCSB’s Michael Bryson, who led the Gauchos with 19 points.

Cal Poly’s offense looked like it was on a different level early in the afternoon, starting the game 6-8 from three-point range. Three-pointers and open shots were coming off of crisp ball-movement and rotation and the Mustangs seemed to have an extra gear, contesting shots and getting rebounds.

Defensively, Cal Poly gave Alan Williams and co. all they could handle. Kyle Odister was scrambling, all over on a stress-fractured foot and David Nwaba was using all his athleticism to clean-up rebounds or keep them alive for teammates.

Sophomore wing, David Nwaba, played with a ridiculous amount of sustained energy vs. UCSB. Can he do it again against UC Irvine tomorrow night? By Owen Main

“I thought the difference was our defense around the perimeter,” said Callero. “Last week we played them, we allowed the reversal of the ball too freely so we stepped up and took about three or four feet of space… . Guarding Williams is physical and emotional. It’s not easy, I thought these guys did a great job implementing. We had enough significant tweaks that gave us the advantage the second, third time around. We did a really good job pressuring them, but we gave them those looks at home. We knew if we could pressure just a little bit more… that’s what made the difference.”

After beating the second-seeded Gauchos, the Mustangs will face top-seeded UC Irvine on Friday night. Unlike UCSB, Cal Poly has had no success against the Anteaters this season. The game may seem like a home game for the Anteaters — UC Irvine is just 13.5 miles away from the Honda Center.

“We were the underdogs,” said Cal Poly’s Joel Awich, who started and scored 11 points and grabbed five rebounds. “Nobody thought we could do it, but as long as we have each other’s backs we can beat anybody.”

The 6:30 game will be live on ESPN3 and tape-delayed on ESPNU. The championship game is scheduled for Saturday night at 7:30 pm on ESPN2.

Photos by Will Parris