Box Score
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. --- UC Irvine went on a game-ending 17-0 run in defeating UC Santa Barbara, 61-52, at the Thunderdome Saturday as the Anteaters remained undefeated in the Big West Conference.
UCI (15-5, 4-0 Big West) held the Gauchos scoreless in the final 10:50 in winning at Santa Barbara for the first time in eight years. The Anteaters trailed 52-44 before launching their run to close out the victory.
The 15-5 start is the best for the Anteaters in 15 years since the 2000-01 team opened 17-3.
Senior forward Mike Best scored 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting and added eight rebounds. He scored 16 of his points in the first half to help offset a barrage of eight threes by UCSB, which led 30-28 at halftime.
Junior center Mamadou Ndiaye registered his Big West-leading fifth double-double with 11 points and 13 boards. He hit 9 of 16 free throws, including 8 of 14 in the second half.
Junior guard Luke Nelson added 10 points, including five in a span of 48 seconds. He hit a three with 3:51 remaining to give UCI its first lead of the second half at 54-52. Nelson hit another field goal with 3:03 left for a 56-52 margin and the Anteaters hit 5 of 6 free throws in the final 2:15 to lock down the win.
Senior point guard Alex Young had six assists to give him 501 in his career as he became the 12th player in Big West history to reach the 500-mark. His 500th assist came on a feed to Best for a basket with five seconds left in the first half. Young added eight points, five rebounds and a pair of steals.
Junior guard Jaron Martin scored seven points for UCI, which won for the 56th time in the last 58 games when holding the opposition to 60 points or less.
Gabe Vincent led the Gauchos (7-9, 1-2) with 14 points and Michael Bryson added 13.
UCI jumped out to an 8-0 lead to start the game on four straight baskets by Best. UCSB then hit 6 of 9 threes to take an 18-11 lead.
The Gauchos hit 8 of 17 three-pointers in the first half and 11 of 26 in the game while UCI was 4 of 17 in the contest.
The Anteaters were 19 of 32 from the free-throw line to just 1 of 5 for UCSB.
UCI took control of the boards in the second half and outrebounded the Gauchos, 45-38, for the game. The Anteaters had eight turnovers to UCSB's 15. Both teams shot 35 percent from the field as UCI is 12-0 this season when holding the opponents to under 40 percent from the field.
Coach Russell Turner's Anteaters host Cal State Fullerton Wednesday night at 7:30 in the Bren Events Center. The Big West game will be televised on Fox Sports Prime Ticket.
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