HONOLULU – The UC Santa Barbara Men's Basketball team (12-7) made their way to Honolulu as they were ready to take on the Rainbow Warriors of Hawai'i for the first time this season. Just like the last time the Gauchos were in Simplifi Arena, they came out with the win, defeating Hawai'i 78-61.
 
FROM HEAD COACH JOE PASTERNACK
"I have the utmost respect for Hawai'i. They have some really great players and it's not easy to make the trip over here. I thought our guys were really locked in all week after not playing well on Saturday. Their response was really good."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Gauchos were first on the scoreboard as Ajay Mitchell made the first basket of the night. The Rainbow Warriors responded with some big baskets of their own, it was very short lived as UC Santa Barbara went on a 26-0 run to take a 28-7 lead. Although Hawai'i tried to make a dent, the Gauchos' defense was too strong as the Gauchos kept a 16-point lead at the half with a score of 43-27.
 
From there, the Gauchos came back out ready to play. They continued in their pursuits, keeping the Rainbow Warriors from scoring on multiple occasions as they kept control of the lead. Despite all of the fouls and turnovers against the Gauchos, UC Santa Barbara continued to shoot at an impressive 59.6 percent clip, which helped them keep the lead in this game. By the end of the game, UC Santa Barbara secured the win with a score of 78-61. 
 
LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS

• Ajay Mitchell led all players on the court in scoring with 25 points. Not only that, but he added on a team-high six assists to go along with four rebounds, two steals and the Gauchos' only block.
• Yohan Traore had the second-most points in tonight's game as he racked up 20, making eight of his 12 shots from the field. Along with that, he added on eight rebounds and a steal.
• Josh Pierre-Louis contributed his fifth double-double of the season. He finished the night with 14 points while adding on 10 rebounds. As if that wasn't enough, he also contributed three assists and two steals while making 100 percent of his shots from the charity stripe.
• Ariel Bland was the last Gaucho to earn double-digit points. He contributed 12 points to the team's efforts, shooting at an 85.7 percent clip.

UP NEXT
The Gauchos will have the next week to prepare for UC Davis, who they will face in The Thunderdome on Thursday, Feb. 1. This game will be featured on ESPNU with a tip-off time of 8 p.m.