SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara Men's Basketball team (14-11) returned to The Thunderdome with hopes of breaking their losing streak. In this afternoon contest against the Rainbow Warriors of Hawai'i, the Gauchos did just that as they rallied from behind to come out with the 77-71 win.
 
FROM HEAD COACH JOE PASTERNACK
"I thought our guys really battled this afternoon. In college basketball, each season is a marathon. We have gone through peaks and valleys. We have had an unbelievably tough year through sickness and injuries, but we are never going to talk about the excuses. This is strictly about life. We told our guys today that you are going to have really, really hard times, but you have to find a way to dig down deep and fight. And fight for each other. I am just so proud that our guys battled back."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Gauchos came out hot, grabbing a 9-0 lead to start the game. However, Hawai'i dug deep, closing the gap quickly and going on a 10-point run that led to them taking the lead and then some. Even though the Gauchos closed the gap slightly, they weren't able to grab the lead by halftime as UC Santa Barbara went to the locker room down 25-34.
 
Once the second half began, the Gauchos began their pursuit for the lead. The Rainbow Warriors started with a small run, but that was short lived. UC Santa Barbara responded back, closing in on the lead with a nine-point run that tied the score at 46-46 with 12 minutes to go. These two teams exchanged the lead seven times from here with neither one being able to pull ahead until the final minute. That's when Ajay Mitchell, being the phenomenal player that he is, scored five straight points which gave his team the cushion they needed. This, along with Jason Fontenet II making three of his four free throws in the final 30 seconds, pushed UC Santa Barbara to the 77-71 win over Hawai'i.
 
LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS

• Ajay Mitchell led all players on the court in points today as he put up 23 while shooting at 100 percent from the free throw line. Along with that, he dished out five assists while grabbing a steal.
• Josh Pierre-Louis lit up in the second half, scoring 13 of his overall 16 points during that time. He was also stealthy on defense, locking up four steals.
• Matija Belic shined in his sixth start of the season, scoring 11 points for the Gauchos. He also helped out on defense with three rebounds, a steal and a block.
• Yohan Traore contributed to the team's efforts as he was the fourth Gaucho to register double-digit points. He finished the day with 10 points to go along with six rebounds and two blocks.
• Jason Fontenet II's efforts can't go unnoticed. He led the team in rebounds with seven while adding on nine points, shooting at 60 percent from the field.

UP NEXT
The Gauchos will hit the road as they take on the UC Irvine Anteaters on Thursday, Feb. 22. Tip-off will be at 8 p.m. in the Bren Center. The game will be shown live on ESPNU.