Box Score HONOLULU, Hawaii — The UC Santa Barbara men's basketball team continued its winning ways Saturday night defeating host Hawaii 81-74 in overtime. The Gauchos, who have now won 10 straight games and trail the all-time win streak record by just one, have proven to be resilient and adaptive in finding ways to win the game.
UCSB saw a trio of scoring leaders including JaQuori McLaughlin who paced the Gauchos with 19 points, seven of which came in overtime. He added five assists and four rebounds and is now six points away from becoming just the third Gaucho in history to have 1,000 points and 300 assists.
Amadou Sow etched his own name into UCSB history by tallying 16 points on 50% shooting and becoming the 30th Gaucho to join the 1,000 point club. He now ranks 29th on the all-time scoring list and is the 20th Gaucho to eclipse 1,000 points and 500 rebounds.
Senior guard Devearl Ramsey was second on the team in scoring with a season high 17 points thanks to a perfect 10-10 outing at the free-throw line. Eight of his free-throws came in the overtime period.
As a team, UCSB was incredibly efficient shooting 54% from the field and 87% from the line knocking down 20-23 free-throws. They also bested the Warriors in the rebound battle 30-26.
The two teams traded blows for much of the first half, with neither taking more than a six-point lead until the Gaucho defense found its rhythm in the final five minutes. While holding the Warrior offense to just three points in the closing minutes, UCSB rode a 16-3 run into the locker room to go up 39-27.
Despite trailing by as many as 15 points, Hawaii clawed all the way back to tie the game at 60-60 with under two minutes to go in regulation. UCSB would miss a pair of free throws in the final minutes allowing the Warriors to stay within reach.
With a minute to go, UH took the lead on a tough layup in traffic by Casdon Jardine, but the Gauchos answered quickly with a dunk by Miles Norris that was perfectly setup by McLaughlin to ice the game. The teams would head to a five-minute overtime tied at 62 apiece.
McLaughlin took over in extra time knocking down a triple to open the period before serving up Norris another perfect dime for a flush that gave them a 69-65 lead. McLaughlin followed with another tough, well-contested jump shot that found the bottom of the net with purpose. From there Ramsey iced the game collecting eight of the final ten points at the stripe. UCSB would outscore Hawaii 19-12 in OT giving them the win, 81-74.
UCSB now returns home to host Big West newcomer Cal State Bakersfield in back-to-back games at the Thunderdome. Game one is set for Friday, February 19th at 8:00 P.M.
