Box Score
ANAHEIM, Calif. --- Senior forward Will Davis II scored 18 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to help lead UC Irvine over UC Santa Barbara, 72-63, in overtime of a Big West Conference Tournament semifinal at the Honda Center Friday night.
Sophomore center Mamadou Ndiaye also scored 18 points and had four blocked shots as the third-seeded Anteaters advanced to Saturday night's championship game against No. 5 seed Hawai'i at 8:30 p.m. (ESPN2).
UCI will be making its fifth appearance in a Big West tourney final and looking for its first win in a championship game. The 'Eaters previously played in title games in 1988, 1994, 2008 and 2013.
In the victory over UCSB, UCI held the Gauchos scoreless for the final 3:07 of regulation and the first 2:40 of overtime.
Davis and Ndiaye were each 7 of 11 from the field in Friday night's win. Davis registered his sixth double-double of the season and 15th in his career.
Sophomore guard Luke Nelson added 14 points, seven assists and three steals while junior forward Mike Best scored six points. Junior guard Alex Young had six assists along with five points and five rebounds, and junior guard Aaron Wright had four assists and four rebounds for the Anteaters, who improved to 20-12 overall.
Alan Williams led the second-seeded Gauchos (19-13) with 24 points and 15 rebounds. John Green added 14 points.
UCI jumped out to an 11-0 lead to start the game and led 34-27 at halftime on the strength of 12 points from Davis and 11 by Ndiaye.
UCSB gained its first lead of the game at 42-41 on a basket by Williams with 12:50 left in regulation.
The teams battled back-and-forth until the Gauchos went on a late 7-1 run to go up 59-53 on a layup by Green with 3:07 remaining.
Back-to-back baskets by Ndiaye (2:57 and 2:07) drew UCI within 59-57, and Wright hit one free throw with 1:43 left and Ndiaye hit a foul shot with 49 seconds remaining to tie the game at 59-59. The Anteaters then survived a last-second miss by Williams to send the game to overtime.
UCI opened overtime with a 7-0 run on baskets from Davis, Ndiaye and Nelson (a three) to go up 66-59.
UCSB's T.J. Taylor hit a pair of free throws with 2:20 left to close the gap to 66-61 before Nelson nailed a three with 1:07 remaining for a 69-61 UCI lead.
Michael Bryson hit a jumper with 48 seconds left to draw UCSB within 69-63, but Young hit two free throws and Wright one in the final 37 seconds to propel UCI to Saturday night's championship game.
"I am really proud of my team for this win," UCI head coach Russell Turner said. "I think we showed great character. That is what we should show because that is what we have.
"I want to congratulate Santa Barbara on a terrific season. We feel really good about competing against them and pulling out a tough win," Turner added.
This is the third consecutive 20-win season for UCI, which has won 64 games in the last three seasons.
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