SANTA BARBARA — The race for the top two seeds in the Big West Conference men’s basketball tournament just got a little tighter.
UC Irvine cut a 21-point second-half deficit to five in the final minute, but the Anteaters couldn’t complete the comeback as UC Santa Barbara made eight of its final 10 free throws to secure an 84-79 victory on Saturday night at the Thunderdome, snapping UCI’s four-game winning streak.
The loss drops UCI (16-8 overall, 9-3 Big West) back into a first-place tie with Hawaii (17-5, 9-3), both now just a half-game ahead of UCSB (16-8, 9-4) with four weeks left in the regular season. The top two seeds for the eight-team conference tournament receive double-byes into the semifinals, a significant advantage in a league that typically sends only its tournament champ to the 68-team NCAA Tournament.
Andre Henry scored a season-high 18 points off the bench to pace the Anteaters. Kyle Evans had 17 points on 8-of-13 shooting to go with six rebounds and two blocked shots, while Jurian Dixon added 15 points a team-high seven rebounds.
Henry scored nine points during a 15-3 run to cut the Gauchos’ lead to 75-70 with 42 seconds left, before the hosts held on.
“We got out-played tonight by Santa Barbara and that’s a credit to them,” said UCI coach Russell Turner, who was ejected in the second half. “Our team was ready and had a good start, but when the game’s physicality and competitiveness increased in intensity they were better than we were and that allowed them to build a big enough lead that we couldn’t come all the way back from.”
Aidan Mahaney scored 21 points to lead UCSB, which outrebounded UCI 37-27. Colin Smith had 17 points and seven rebounds, CJ Shaw finished with 15 points, Hosana Kitenge added 12 points and six rebounds, and Zion Sensley contributed 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Harrison Carrington scored all 10 of his points in the first nine minutes to help UCI grab a 20-13 lead, but the Gauchos closed the first half on a 16-4 run to grab a 34-28 lead at halftime.
UCSB started the second half on an 11-2 run to open a 45-30 lead. A Henry layup cut the margin to eight points for UCI, but the Gauchos responded with an 8-0 run to extend their lead to 16 with 11:31 left. The gap swelled to 64-43 before UCI started to chip away. Two free throws by Henry, a layup from Evans and two more free throws from Dixon got the Anteaters within 64-49 with 6:49 remaining.
Henry then fueled the 15-3 run, converting a four-point play that made it a five-point game with 42 seconds left. UCSB made three free throws wrapped around a Henry 3-point miss, then a Dixon layup made it a six-point game with 15 seconds left. The Gauchos made six more free throws from there to close it out.
After shooting 42.9% (12 for 28) in the first half, the Anteaters shot 55.9% (19 for 34) in the second half, making five 3-pointers. Both teams finished above 50% for the night.
“I’m just proud of our guys for gutting it out,” UCSB coach Joe Pasternack said. “They’re the best team in our league. It was all about rebounding. I thought, you know, 37 to 27 on the boards was the difference in the game. Colin Smith was a monster tonight, 17 and seven. Zion Sensley had a double-double, 13 rebounds, and Hosana Kitenge really changed the energy of the game.”
UP NEXT
UC Irvine at Cal Poly (SLO), Thursday, 7 p.m.
BIG WEST STANDINGS
Through Saturday, Feb. 7
Team – Overall, Big West
Hawaii – 17-5, 9-3
UC Irvine – 16-8, 9-3
UC Santa Barbara – 16-8, 9-4
UC Davis – 15-9, 8-5
Cal State Northridge – 15-10, 8-5
Cal State Fullerton – 12-13, 7-6
UC San Diego – 16-9, 6-7
Cal Poly (SLO) – 9-16, 5-8
Long Beach State – 8-16, 4-8
UC Riverside – 8-17, 3-10
Cal State Bakersfield – 8-17, 2-11
