UCSB shot the basketball so poorly in its loss to Wyoming on Wednesday that a student in the Gaucho rooting section commented: “The blind-folded people at halftime shot better than our team.”
That’s how bad things went for the Gauchos in a 68-40 drubbing by the undefeated Cowboys before 1,351 at the Thunderdome. It was their worst home since Feb. 5, 2005 against Utah State.
UCSB shot a miserable 29 percent (16-56) for the game and attempted only three free throws. To make matters worse, its top player, Al Williams, picked up his fourth foul with less than 3 minutes gone in the second half and ended up fouling out with 8:07 left in the game.
The Gauchos were down by 12 (36-24) when Williams picked up his fourth foul. When he returned to the court, the deficit grew to 51-29.
“I’m not sure I can remember a game at home when we shot worse than that,” said Gaucho head coach Bob Williams. “For the most part, I thought we got open looks, but it just wouldn’t fall. I was also disappointed at our turnovers again. I thought, if anything, there were worse turnovers than the last game (at Boise State), and that’s not good. We need to get better, and we will.”
Wyoming has a leader in senior point guard Derrious Gilmore, a powerful inside presence in 6-7, 230-pound senior Leonard Washington and a go-to outside shooter in senior Luke Martinez. Together, they destroyed the Gauchos, combining for 38 points. Martinez led the way with 17, making 5 of 8 from behind the 3-point arc. Gilmore scored 12 points and had six assists, and Washington had nine points. Larry Nance Jr. added 12 points.
Wyoming improved to 7-0, its best start since the 1969-70 season. UCSB fell to 2-4.
Despite fouling out, Williams led the Gauchos in scoring with 11 points. Kyle Boswell was the only other player in double figures with 10 points.
Wyoming native Taran Brown, who had been scoring well for UCSB in its last few games, got into early foul trouble and finished with nine points.
Brown scored inside to make it 36-26, but Martinez answered for Wyoming with his fourth trey for a 39-26 lead.
Wyoming moved the ball well against UCSB’s defense. Washington received a nice pass inside for a dunk and a 44-29 lead with 11:28 to go in the second half.
Martinez knocked down a three 3-pointers and Nance threw down a pair of dunks to help the Cowboys build a 34-21 halftime lead.
The Cowboys went on a 12-5 run to take a 30-18 lead with 2:02 left in the half. Martinez made a pair of 3s and dished off a nifty assist to Derek Cooke Jr. for a layup to spark the run.
Michael Bryson provided some energy and good shooting for the Gauchos in the half. He was 3-for-3 from the floor and sank both his free throws for eight points. Williams also scored eight points.
The Gauchos shot a frigid 34 percent in the half (9-26) and committed 10 turnovers. Wyoming made 47 percent from the floor (11-23) and 9 of 10 from the free-throw line. UCSB didn’t attempt a free throw in the first half.
