Gauchos Hand Irvine First Big West Loss

Michael Bryson had 18 points and UC Santa Barbara handed UC Irvine its first conference loss, 76-60 on Saturday night.

After having all kinds of trouble finishing games this year, UCSB turned the tables as they ended the game on a 20-4 run.

Gabe Vincent gave the Gauchos (9-11, 3-4 Big West) the lead for good at 59-56 on a 3-pointer with 5:19 left. That sparked a 10-2 run which he capped with another 3 at 66-58 with 2:25 to play.

After Aaron Wright made 1 of 2 free throws for the Anteaters (17-6, 6-1), Eric Childress extended UC Santa Barbara’s possession with an offensive rebound and Vincent fed Bryson along the baseline for a two-handed dunk to make it 68-59 at 1:10.

UC Irvine had a pair of technical fouls in the final minute that helped the Gauchos extend their margin of victory.

Vincent added 14 points and Childress scored 12 for UCSB.

Luke Nelson scored 16 and Alex Young 12 for UC Irvine. The loss snapped the Anteaters’ seven-game winning streak.