IRVINE, Calif. --- UC Irvine regained sole possession of first place in the Big West Conference with a 71-60 victory over UC Santa Barbara before 2,680 at the Bren Events Center Thursday night.

Senior guard Chris McNealy led four Anteater players in double figures with 17 points.  He was 5 of 5 from the field, including 2 of 2 on threes, and hit all five of his free throws as UCI improved to 19-10 overall and 10-3 in the Big West.

Junior forward Will Davis II scored 14 points and added a game-high eight rebounds, two blocked shots and two steals.

Freshman guard Luke Nelson scored 13 points and 7-6 freshman post Mamadou Ndiaye had 11 points and six boards. 

Sophomore guard Alex Young recorded a game-high six assists and added seven points.

Alan Williams led UCSB (18-8, 9-4) with 15 points and six rebounds.  Kyle Boswell added 14 points, hitting 4 of 9 threes, and Michael Bryson scored 11 points.

UCI hit 24 of 30 free throws in the win to the Gauchos' 6 of 14.  The 'Eaters outrebounded UCSB, 36-26, as six different UCI players had at least four boards.

The Anteaters led 29-27 at halftime on two free throws by McNealy with 1:40 left in the half.

Three free throws from McNealy and a layup by Young gave UCI a 34-27 lead to open the second half, but UCSB tied the game at 41-41 on a three by Boswell with 12:55 remaining.

A three by Nelson put the 'Eaters up 50-46 with 9:29 left but Boswell canned another three with 8:06 remaining to knot the score at 50-all.

UCI went on an 11-4 run to go up 61-54 on a basket from Davis with 4:04 left, but back-to-back threes from Boswell and Bryson pulled the Gauchos within 61-60 at the 2:26 mark. 

McNealy canned a three with 2:04 remaining for a 64-60 UCI lead and the 'Eaters held UCSB scoreless the rest of the way.

UCI shot 44.7 percent from the field and the Gauchos 44.2 percent.  Both teams had 10 turnovers.

"We have a lot of good players on this team," UCI head coach Russell Turner said.  "That's a good thing, but it can also be a burden as everyone wants to play minutes. 

"Our guys have made sacrifices for each other and that is a culture we are creating, one that I think can lead to sustained winning," Turner added.

UCI hosts Cal Poly Saturday night at 8:00 in a Big West game that will be televised on ESPNU.

The 'Eaters, 10-3 in the Big West, are one game ahead of UCSB and Long Beach State, who are each 9-4, with three league games remaining.

UCI has won 24 of its last 29 games in the Bren Center.

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