SANTA BARBARA, Calif.  – The University of Hawaii men's basketball team got off to a slow start and couldn't recover in a 79-61 loss to UC Santa Barbara Thursday night at the Thunderdome. The Gauchos (18-8, 7-5 B]WC) snapped a three-game slide and in the process moved into a tie for third with the Rainbow Warriors (16-10, 7-5 BWC) in the Big West standings.
 
The 'Bows were coming off its best offensive performance of the season in an 87-64 rout of UC Riverside. But UH was off kilter early, allowing UCSB to take a lead they would hold the rest of the evening.  
 
UH missed 10 of its first 12 shots and went down 17-4 to start the game. The Rainbow Warrior shot just 30 percent in the first half to fall into an 11-point hole, a deficit it couldn't overcome after the break.
 
Zigmars Raimo led UH with 15 points, while Drew Buggs recorded 13 points and eight rebounds. Amadou Sow, who scored a game-high 21 points in the first meeting, had a big game again. Sow finished with a game-high 18 points and eight rebounds for the Gauchos, who secured a regular-season sweep of UH for the first time since 2015.
 
UH trailed 30-19 at the break, but came out energized in the second half.  Eddie Stansberry breathed life into the team with a trio of three-pointers to help UH cut the deficit to 39-34 just five minutes after intermission. The 'Bows made 8 of their first 11 shots after the break to stay in the game. But the Gauchos wouldn't relent and a 9-1 run pushed their lead to 15-points with 10 minutes left.
 
UCSB shot 50 percent for the game and out-rebounded UH, 35-27. The 'Bows shot 47 percent for the game, but just 29 percent (6-of-21) on threes and committed 16 turnovers, its highest total in the last 12 games.
 
The Rainbow Warriors will now head up the coast and look for a road split when it takes on Cal Poly at Mott Gym on Saturday, Feb. 23. Tipoff is 7:00 p.m. PT/5:00 p.m. HT.