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Tom Beattie pass
Guava Press Media
71
Hawaii Hawaii 15-12,7-8 Big West
77
Winner UC Santa Barbara UCSB 14-11,7-8 Big West
Hawaii Hawaii
15-12,7-8 Big West
71
Final
77
UC Santa Barbara UCSB
14-11,7-8 Big West
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Hawaii Hawaii 34 37 71
UC Santa Barbara UCSB 25 52 77

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Men’s Basketball Falls Late At UC Santa Barbara

SANTA BARBARA, Calif.  —  The University of Hawai'i men's basketball team had a road sweep in its sights before ultimately falling to UC Santa Barbara, 77-71, Saturday afternoon at the Thunderdome. The loss snapped UH's three-game win strak and dropped the Rainbow Warriors to 15-12 overall and 7-8 in the Big West.

Meanwhile, UC Santa Barbara (14-11, 7-8) ended their three-game skid while leveling with UH in a congested Big West standings.  Ajay Mitchell scored 23 points, including the go-ahead three-point play with less than 90 seconds left to give the Gauchos their fifth straight win over UH and complete a season sweep of the 'Bows.

Tom Beattie led UH with a career-high 15 points and have four critical points down the stretch to get UH in position for the road win. The true freshman shot 5-of-7 from the floor and also added six rebounds and three assists. Justin McKoy scored 14 points, as did Bernardo da Silva, who went a perfect 5-of-5 from the floor and added a team-high seven rebounds before fouling out. 

UH held a nine-point lead at the break, but the Gauchos surged back in the second half when they shot 60 percent from the field. UCSB out-scored UH 44-26 in the paint and committed just four turnovers for the game. 

The first half was one of runs with UH taking the advantage. The Gauchos scored the first nine points of the game to prompt a quick UH timeout, but the 'Bows responded with 10 straight of their own. The game was tied 20-20 with six minutes left in the half but UH scored 14 of the next 17 points before taking a 34-25 lead into the locker room. UH shot 54 percent for the half, including 6-of-12 on three-pointers. The Gauchos meanwhile were limited to just 33 percent shooting on 3-of-10 from deep. 

UH maintained a 46-39 lead after a Noel Coleman jumper at the 13:17 mark. But the Gauchos scored nine unanswered points to take its first lead of the half. From there it was a back-and-forth affair with eight ties and seven lead changes in the second half. 

A pair of Beattie free throws gave UH a 67-66 lead with 3:19 left and the freshman's driving bucket with 1:43 left tied it up 69-69 with 1:43 left. But Mitchelll converted on a three-point play on the next possession to give UCSB the lead for good. Down 74-71 late, UH had a chance to potentially tie the game, but McKoy missed a layup near the rim with 12 seconds left and UCSB sealed the game with three final free throws. 

UH shot 9-of-17 on three-pointers and 14-of-16 from the line, but couldn't overcome a hot-shooting UCSB squad in the second half. 

The Rainbow Warriors will next be in action at home when it hosts Long Beach State on Saturday, Feb. 24. Tipoff is 7:00 p.m. at SimpliFi Arena.

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