Furious comeback falls short as UCSB drops first home game to Riverside

UC SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The Gauchos almost pulled off the comeback of the season against UC Riverside.

However the Highlanders escaped with a 65-64 victory to hand UCSB its first Big West loss on the year as well as their first home setback.

The loss also snapped the Gauchos 9-game win streak.

Trailing 61-48 with 3:09 left UCSB went on a 9-0 run to pull within 4 points on a Miles Norris three-pointer with 1:20 left.

A three-point play by Ajay Mitchell with 40 seconds to go brought UCSB within 63-60.

With two seconds left Mitchell made two free throws to make it 65-64.

Riverside threw the ball well past half court on the inbound but UCSB freshman Koat Keat Tong intercepted it and launched a 70-foot one-handed heave at the buzzer that hit the backboard and rim before bouncing away.

Mitchell led UCSB with 15 points while Cole Anderson scored 13 points off the bench for the Gauchos who dropped to 13-3 on the year and 4-1 in the Big West.

Kyle Owens had a game-high 19 points for Riverside who won at UCSB for the first time in 25 career games.

The Highlanders made 9-of-16 of their three-point shots while UCSB was just 2-of-15 from beyond the arc.

The Gauchos were outrebounded 32-24.