SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (Interstat) — UC Santa Barbara used balanced scoring and a decisive second-half surge to defeat visiting San Fran. St. 85-55 in a men’s NCAA Division I basketball game on Monday at the Thunderdome on the University of California-Santa Barbara campus. The Gauchos improved to 1-0 with the non-divisional victory. San Fran. St. was the visiting team in front of an attendance of 1,773.

San Fran. St. started quickly and took the first five points of the game. Achilles Woodson made a pullup jump shot with 19:10 remaining in the first half, and Bricen Buciak followed with a 3-point jump shot at the 18:04 mark to give the visitors an early edge. UC Santa Barbara answered without letting the deficit grow. Aidan Mahaney made two free throws, Koat Keat Tong made a layup and Miro Little hit a pullup jump shot to tie the score at 6-6 with 16:43 left in the first half. The Gauchos moved in front on Viljami Vartiainen’s layup with 15:18 remaining, and RJ Smith added a layup to make it 10-6. Vartiainen’s floating jump shot at the 13:23 mark increased the lead to 12-6.

San Fran. St. kept within range through the middle of the first half. Achilles Woodson made a layup, and Fed Pernell and Miles Pollard hit jumpers to help the visitors stay close. UC Santa Barbara answered with free throws from Eric Dibami, a turnaround jump shot by Dibami and a floating jump shot from Mahaney. Antonio Chol made a free throw and later converted free throws after a 3-point shooting foul as the Gauchos began to separate. San Fran. St. pulled within two at 19-17 on Woodson’s 3-point field goal with 7:25 left in the first half. UC Santa Barbara then closed the half with a 22-9 run. Marvin McGhee made a layup and a free throw, Miro Little made two free throws and Chol made two free throws to extend the margin. Chol’s 3-point field goal with 1:47 remaining in the first half and his dunk with 10.10 seconds left helped UC Santa Barbara carry momentum into the break.

The most important stretch came immediately after halftime. Eric Dibami made a layup, then added a dunk on the next possession. Aidan Mahaney made a 3-point jump shot, and Miro Little connected from beyond the arc to complete a 10-0 run that pushed UC Santa Barbara’s lead to 51-26 with 17:38 remaining. The burst turned a comfortable advantage into a commanding one and forced San Fran. St. to play catch-up the rest of the way. The visitors responded with a run of their own later in the half. Fed Pernell made a pullup jumper, Achilles Woodson made a layup and a 3-point jump shot, and Dontrell Johnson made a dunk and two free throws to cut the deficit to 58-43 with 9:52 remaining.

UC Santa Barbara answered that challenge with Marvin McGhee’s consecutive 3-point field goals. McGhee made a 3-point jump shot with 9:20 remaining and another 3-point field goal at the 8:33 mark to restore a 64-43 lead. From there, the Gauchos kept San Fran. St. at a distance. RJ Smith made a 3-point jump shot, Declan Duru made a dunk and Jordan Charles made a layup. Viljami Vartiainen added a pullup jump shot, and Antonio Chol made two free throws to make it 75-47. Luke Zuffelato made a jump shot, and Jordan Charles made free throws and a layup as the lead grew again. Kiahn Nice made a jump shot and a stepback jump shot for San Fran. St. during the late stretch, while Evan McKnight made two free throws. Derek Jordan provided late scoring for San Fran. St. with a fast-break layup and a pullup jump shot, but Jordan Charles answered with a floating jump shot, and Bryce Bedgood made two free throws to close the scoring.

Marvin McGhee of UC Santa Barbara, a guard from Atlanta, Ga., who is listed at 6-foot-7 and 200 pounds and previously played at Bishop State CC, had 14 minutes, nine points, six rebounds, five assists and one block. Antonio Chol, a 6-foot-9, 215-pound forward who previously played at Minnesota Prep Academy, added 18 minutes, 13 points, four rebounds and one block. Eric Dibami, a 6-foot-10, 240-pound forward who previously played at Miami Prep, contributed 14 minutes, 12 points, three rebounds and two blocks. Declan Duru, a 6-foot-8, 230-pound forward who previously played at Real Madrid, had 16 minutes, two points, seven rebounds, three assists and one block. Miro Little, a 6-foot-3 guard who previously played at Sunrise Christian Academy, finished with 14 minutes, seven points, one rebound and two assists.

RJ Smith, a 6-foot-3, 195-pound guard who previously played at Damien, posted 18 minutes, nine points, three rebounds and four assists. Jordan Charles, a 6-foot guard who previously played at Bella Vista Prep, added eight minutes, seven points, one rebound, one assist and one block. Viljami Vartiainen, a 6-foot-6, 205-pound guard who previously played at Mäkelänrinteen Lukio, supplied 18 minutes, eight points and four rebounds. Aidan Mahaney, a guard, had 20 minutes, seven points, one rebound and one assist. Bryce Bedgood, a 6-foot-11 forward who previously played at Valencia, chipped in three minutes, three points and two rebounds.

UC Santa Barbara will next host Oakland on Nov. 7 and Nevada on Nov. 11. The Gauchos host UC Merced on Nov. 15, then visit Pepperdine on Nov. 19 and SMU on Nov. 20. UNC Greensboro visits Nov. 24, Lehigh meets the Gauchos Nov. 27 at Thousand Oaks, Calif., and UC Santa Barbara visits Cal State Bakersfield on Dec. 3. Cal Poly visits Dec. 5, and the Gauchos face Yale on Dec. 12 at Henderson, Nev. No point spread, betting line, over-under or game-simulator projection was supplied for this game.