UC SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) - The Gauchos held visiting Hawai'i to just 21 first half points and went on for a 77-62 victory to tighten up the Big West standings.
The Gauchos had five players score in double-figures led by Aidan Mahaney who turned in a game-high 17 points.
UCSB is now 4-3 in the Big West, one game behind co-leaders Hawai'i and UC Irvine.
The Gauchos led 40-21 at the half but the Rainbow Warriors cut the deficit to 53-46 with under 10 minutes to go.
"I thought Friday and Saturday last week, after losing to Davis, we had unbelievable practices," said UCSB head coach Joe Pasternack. "Our guys really bought into defense, and I thought this week we got better at it during hard practices early in the week. We are far from perfect. I just talked with the team about how we don't understand how to play for 40 minutes. Hawai'i is a great team; they are the best team we have played all year. We had our best defensive outing in the first half, but then gave up 41 points in the second half."
But UCSB responded with a 10-0 run as Miro Little drilled a three-pointer, freshman CJ Shaw was fouled on a driving layup and converted the free throw. Zion Sensley made consecutive buckets and the Gauchos were back in control up 63-46 with 7 minutes remaining.
Less than two minutes later, the lead swelled to 68-48 following a Mahaney three-pointer and another Sensley basket.
(Zion Sensley finished with 11 points off the bench. Entenza Design).
Hosana Kitenge also played a strong second half and finished with 12 points off the bench shooting a perfect 6-for-6 from the floor.
Little and Colin Smith were the other Gauchos to score in double-digits with 11 and 10 points respectively.
(Besides his 11 points, Miro Little also added 5, rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. Entenza Design).
(Colin Smith scored 6 points in a five second span late in the first half. Entenza Design).
UCSB outshot Hawai'i 55% to 42% and outrebounded the Rainbow Warriors 32-28.
The Gauchos improve to 11-7 overall while Hawai'i is now 13-4.
Gauchos turn in best performance of the season to beat Big West leading Hawai’i News Channel 3-12.
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