Box Score HENDERSON, Nev. – The No. 5 UC Santa Barbara men's basketball team took down No. 4 UC Irvine 78-69 in the Big West Tournament Quarterfinals on Thursday at The Dollar Loan Center behind a huge 21-point, 16-rebound double-double from Amadou Sow and 20 points off the bench from Ajare Sanni.
ON THE STAT SHEET
- The Gauchos (17-10) hit 7-of-12 (.583) from deep, setting a new season-high in three-point percentage. They also shot over 50 percent (.509) for the fourth straight game.
- Sow's dominance on the inside mixed with his soft touch from midrange led to a 10-for-16 (.625) mark from the field, tied for his second-most made field goals of the season. He notched his fifth double-double with a season-best 16 boards.
- Junior guard Josh Pierre-Louis (4 points) enjoyed a solid first half converting both of his shot attempts inside, but would not return after halftime. Sanni started the second half in his place and provided a huge spark, going a perfect 4-of-4 on threes and 6-of-8 overall to record his second 20-point game of the season.
- UCSB used the three-point shot sparingly, but was deadly accurate when the time came. The Gauchos connected on 5-of-7 (.714) from outside in the second half to help seal the win.
- Redshirt junior guard Calvin Wishart was nearly perfect from the field (5/6 FG), finishing as UCSB's third-leading scorer with 14 points and leading all players with five assists.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half (31-29 UCSB)
- Wishart got the Gauchos out to a good start, hitting a three on their first possession and taking a steal coast-to-coast to put them up 7-4 early.
- There were five lead changes in the first 10 minutes, but there would be none the rest of the way after an incredible reverse layup from Pierre-Louis put UCSB up 14-13. The Gauchos continued finding ways to score inside, and freshman guard Ajay Mitchell found Pierre-Louis again on a backdoor cut to put UCSB up 18-13 at the 9:20 mark, capping a 6-0 run.
- The Gauchos committed just four turnovers in the opening half and gave up just one free throw as they went into the break with a slim 31-29 lead.
Second Half (78-69 UCSB)
- Sanni provided a huge spark for the Gauchos coming out of halftime. UCSB led 37-35 before he put in a nice floater off glass. Over the next few minutes, he would pull the trigger quickly off the catch for two big threes, the second of which gave the Gauchos their first double-digit lead of the day, 51-40 with 13:34 to go.
- The Anteaters (15-10) fought back to cut it to six, but UCSB responded with nine straight for its biggest run of the night. Wishart got things started with a patient, soft jumper in the paint. He forced a turnover on the next play which turned into an uncontested two-hand jam by Sow. Sanni would knock down his fourth straight three without a miss to give the Gauchos their biggest lead of the night, 64-49 with 6:41 remaining.
- UCI managed to keep things interesting as it went into desperation mode, forcing turnovers and scoring on seven straight possessions late to get the lead all the way down to four. However, a costly turnover in the final minute would end the comeback bid as UCSB put the game away at the free throw line.
UP NEXT
No. 5 UCSB moves on to face No. 1 Long Beach State tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. in the Big West Tournament Semifinals. The Gauchos split the season series with LBSU, defeating the Beach 84-71 last month at the Thunderdome but falling on the road 65-58 back in January.
