POCATELLO, Idaho – Matt Freeman made a three-point basket with 27.3 seconds left in regulation tying the score at 63 and then UC Santa Barbara outscored Idaho State 11-5 in overtime to come away with an impressive and improbable 74-68 win on the road Monday night. 

The Gauchos (7-4), winners of six out of their last seven, needed a frantic rally to overcome an eight-point Bengal (3-5) lead in the final 1:16 to force the overtime and then they dominated the five-minute extra period.

Tarik Cool, who finished with a game-high 21 points, made a long three-pointer from the left side at the 1:35 mark to give ISU its biggest lead of the game, 63-55, but that's when UCSB took control. 

Devearl Ramsey made a three-point basket from above the key with 1:16 remaining to make the score to make the score 63-58, kick starting the decisive game-ending run. 

Ramsey's three was followed by the first of several key defensive stops. JaQuori McLaughlin was fouled with 1:07 on the clock, making both free throws to cut the gap to 63-60. After Jared Stutzman missed a three-pointer for the home team, McLaughlin had his layup blocked on the other end, giving the ball back to ISU with 37 seconds remaining. 

Coreyoun Rushin was fouled by McLaughlin, but he missed both free throws, the second was rebounded by Freeman. The graduate transfer from Oklahoma got the ball to Ramsey who drove down the floor and into the key. He pulled up, turned and passed the ball back to Freeman who nailed his game-tying triple. 

"He (Freeman) was yelling at me as I was going up the court," Ramsey said. "I knew he was trailing so I tried to draw the defense and get the ball back to him. That's what I did and he made a great shot." 

Following a timeout, the Bengals got off two shots, the first a lengthy three-point launch by Cool and the second a hurried put-back attempt by Chier Maker as time ran out. 

The overtime was ruled by the Gauchos. It began with another defensive stop and a pair of free throws by McLaughlin at the 4:18 mark. After its defense forced Rushin to heave a crosscourt pass into the stands, UCSB got another three-point basket from Ramsey, this one from way above the top of the arc to give his team a 68-63 advantage with 3:50 on the clock. 

Maker, who finished with 17 points and made three three-point baskets, including one that narrowly beat the buzzer to end the first half, missed a long triple attempt for the Bengals with 3:22 to play.

Robinson Idehen was called for an offensive foul on the ensuing possession, giving the ball back to ISU. But Idehen came up with a steal when he forced Stutzman into a tie-up with the arrow pointing to the Gauchos. At that point there was 2:32 left. On the offensive end, Idehen came up with a huge rebound and was fouled on the put-back attempt. He hit 1-of-2 free throws to make the score 69-63 UCSB with 2:13 remaining. At that point Santa Barbara had outscored the Bengals 14-0 over a span of 4:03 that bridged the end of regulation and overtime, transforming an eight-point deficit into a six-point lead.

"We had a lot of guys come up big for us at the end of regulation and in the overtime," said head coach Joe Pasternack. "We've played four straight close games on the road and won three, that says a lot about this team." 

Cool broke the spell by making a three-pointer at the 1:21 mark, but following another timeout, Brandon Cyrus found Idehen rolling to the basket and the junior, playing in place of Amadou Sow who fouled out late in the game, made a powerful layup to extend the lead back to 71-66 with 52 ticks left on the clock.

"He (Idehen) was big for us tonight," Pasternack said. "With Amadou out and Matt (Freeman) with four fouls, we needed him to step-up. He played 19 minutes and was a major factor."

Idehen finished with a season-high nine points, seven rebounds, one steal and a blocked shot.

The game wasn't over, however, as Cool made a short jumper from the free throw line extended on the right side with 39 seconds remaining. But after an ISU timeout, it was again Ramsey who responded for the Gauchos by making his fourth three-pointer of the game and third of the final 6:16, giving Santa Barbara the 74-68 lead with 10 seconds left, and that's how the game ended. 

Ramsey, who struggled on the offensive end for much of the early season, finished with a season-high 20 points on 7-of-14 from the field overall and 4-for-6 from beyond the three-point arc. He also logged a season-high 41 minutes and had five rebounds. 

"Devearl has been battling through a lot of things and he's never hung his head or quit," Pasternack said. "He has stayed with the process and tonight he was rewarded." 

McLaughlin had 18 points, Cyrus added nine to go along with five rebounds, while Freeman had seven and a game-high eight boards. The three-pointer that he hit in the final seconds was his only three-point attempt of the game. In 25:33 before fouling out. Sow had seven points and six boards. Sékou Touré had four points and five rebounds, giving the Gauchos six players with at least five. Overall, they won the battle of the boards 42-32 had twice as many offensive rebounds as the Bengals, 14-7. 

Santa Barbara tied its season-high with nine three-point baskets, and this time the nine threes came on just 20 attempts for a season-best 45.0% from outside the arc.

ISU made 42.6% of its field goals overall, including 54.2% in the second half, enabling them to overcome a pair of nine-point UCSB leads in the first half. Malik Porter had 11 points and four big blocked shots for the Bengals.

The Gauchos will return home for a pair of pre-Christmas games this weekend. On Friday, Dec. 20 they will host Southern University at the Thunderdome in a 7:00 p.m. game. On Sunday, Dec. 22 they will play Merrimack College in a 2:00 p.m. encounter.