EUGENE, Ore. – It was a familiar scene as late heroics helped visiting UC Santa Barbara force overtime at Oregon on Monday night, but in the end the Ducks closed the game on a 7-0 run to beat the Gauchos, 82-78.
A pair of free throws by Michael Bryson with 15 seconds to play in regulation gave UCSB a 71-70 lead and quieted a delirious crowd, but Joseph Young made 1-of-2 free throws with 4.6 left to tie the score and send the game into the extra period.
Gabe Vincent made a three-pointer to start the scoring in the extra period and, once again, Young made 1-of-2 free throws to cut the lead to 74-72. Moments later, Alan Williams, who finished with 26 points and 12 rebounds, powered his way in for a lay-up to extend the Gaucho advantage to 76-72.
The Ducks responded with an open three-pointer by Casey Benson to cut the gap to 76-75, but again, it was Williams coming through as he made a bank shot from the right side to give UCSB its final points and a 78-75 lead with 2:42 remaining.
Jalil Abdul-Basset scored the final seven points for Oregon. He drained a three-pointer from straight away with 2:25 on the clock, a free throw line jumper at the 1:33 mark and finally two free throws with 14 seconds left to seal the win.
UCSB trailed by as many as 11 in the first half, but showed the same resilience that saw them force overtimes at Florida-Gulf Coast and SMU before falling in both contests. This time, the Gauchos showed that same resilience, but unfortunately the result was the same.
“This is a resilient group, but at some point you’ve got to win one of those games,” said head coach Bob Williams. “In the end people pay attention to whether you won or lost.”
Behind 36-30 at the break, Santa Barbara used a 28-10 burst to open the second half, taking a 58-46 lead on a Gabe Vincent three-pointer with 11:55 left in the game.
At that point, with Williams and John Green, who scored a career-high 18 points, out of the game, the Ducks went o a 10-0 run to tighten things up. Abdul-Basset scored eight straight points to start the stretch and Young, who finished with a team-high 25, ended it with a pair of free throws.
The game was nip-and-tuck the remainder of regulation and stayed close throughout the overtime.
Bryson had 21 points, combining with Williams and Green for 65 of UCSB’s 78. Vincent had three three-pointers and finished with nine points. As a team the Gauchos made 9-of-17 three-point attempts, 52.9%. The Ducks were just 8-of-23 from three-point territory, 34.8%, but hit 22-of-33 inside the arc, 66.7%.
The Gauchos, who are now 5-6 on the year, will play their next game in Oregon as well when they travel north for a Dec. 30 contest at Oregon State. The game against the Beavers will tip-off at 6:30 and be televised on the Pac 12 Network.
