UH Vs. UCSB (2/21/26)

The jinx is finally over!

In what was their final matchup as Big West opponents, the University of Hawaiʻi Men’s Basketball team pulled off a triumphant victory over the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos in an overtime thriller, 78-75, on Saturday at Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center! UH great Anthony Carter was honored at halftime and was treated to UH's first win over UC Santa Barbara since 2022 in the SSC! The victory also vaulted UH into a three-way tie for the top spot in the Big West Standings with CSUN, and UC Irvine, who lost to UC San Diego at home earlier this week!

Dre Bullock led the ‘Bows with 21 points and seven rebounds! Isaiah Kerr came up huge with 15 of his career-high 17 points coming in the final 25 minutes. Harry Rouhliadeff added 10 points and four rebounds before he fouled out.

Colin Smith led the Gauchos with 19 points and eight rebounds! Aidan Mahaney was next with 16 points and three rebounds before he fouled out in overtime! Marvin McGhee IV had a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds as well!

UCSB's Mahaney drew first blood with a triple just 17 seconds in but fouled UH's Bullock responded back with a successful 3-point play to tie things up!

Santa Barbara had an early 11-10 lead with 13:24 to go off a McGhee free throw, but UH's Gytis Nemeikša banked a corner triple to put UH in the lead. That started a 10-2 UH run to put UH ahead, 20-13, and was punctuated on a Bullock triple.

UH was able to keep a handful of a lead, but they fell victim to a 14-5 Santa Barbara run in the final 5:31 of the first half which was punctuated by a CJ Shaw triple with three seconds left. As a result, UH trailed, 32-30, at halftime!

During halftime, former UH point guard Anthony Carter had his #23 jersey retired! He became just the second Rainbow Warrior to have his jersey retired -- the other being former Fabulous Five member Bob Nash.

In the second half, UCSB scored the first six points, and it appeared that UH would have trouble from that point forward.

UH made up those six points via an 8-0 run that began with a Rouhliadeff free throw and ended with a Rouhliadeff tip-in! UH now found themselves down one, 38-37, with 16:10 to go!

Despite a 6-0 UCSB run, UH's Kerr put himself on the radar when he buried a triple following two made McGhee free throws. UH then fell behind by as many as eight shortly thereafter, but they refused to fold!

A 13-3 UH run put the 'Bows back on top, but that did not last long, as UCSB's McGhee buried a triple to put the Gauchos back up, 54-53, with 8:28 to go. McGhee's triple ignited a 9-0 UCSB run, and the Gauchos were back up six, 59-53.

UH did not back down! While Kerr scored nine points in the second half alone, teammates Rouhliadeff and Hunter Erickson took matters into their own hands their way! With 1:11 to go, and UH still trailing, 66-62, Erickson made a clutch layup to cut the gap down to two, 66-64! Bullock missed a layup on UH's next possession, but Rouhliadeff got the offensive rebound and buried a jumper to tie the score at 66!

With seven seconds left, McGhee executed and made a layup to put UCSB back in front, 68-66, and it looked like that was the dagger for UH's hopes, but UH's Rouhliadeff had no plans to let that become reality!

Erickson missed a layup with 4.5 seconds left, but Rouhliadeff came to the rescue with a vital tip-in to even things up at 68!

Mahaney tried to be the hero for UC Santa Barbara with a mid-court heave, but it bounced off, and overtime was needed to settle things once and for all!

The extra frame was all about UH's Kerr, as he buried a triple just nine seconds in to put UH back on top, but it was far from done!

UCSB's Smith went 1-of-2 at the free throw line following an Isaac Johnson foul. Then, Zion Sensley, son of former UH Rainbow Warrior Julian Sensley, buried a triple to put the Gauchos down one, 73-72, with 4:03 to go. Hosana Kitenge gave UCSB the lead via a layup with 2:45 to go!

Kerr rose to the occasion and gave UH the lead back, 75-74, via a layup of his own after Erickson missed a triple, and Bullock got the offensive rebound. In all the hoopla, Kerr was fouled on that layup by Kitenge, which ended Kitenge's night overall! Kerr sank the additional free throw to complete the three-point play, but it was not done yet!

Erickson and Johnson each went 1-of-2 from the free throw line after fouls by UCSB's Shaw and Michael Simcoe, respectively. UH still held a 78-75 lead, but Santa Barbara had one last chance to force double overtime.

With 3.2 seconds left, Shaw's desperation triple did not go, and UH halted what was an eight-game skid against UC Santa Barbara!

In total, UH committed just nine turnovers to UCSB's 12! The 'Bows also outscored the Gauchos in every category except assists! They won the battle on points in the paint 36-26, points off turnovers 18-13, second-chance points 17-4, and bench points 25-18!

UH improves to 19-7 overall and has won 11 of their last 12 home games! They will hit the road for the last time before the Big West Tournament, beginning with the UC Davis Aggies at the University Credit Union Center on Thursday, Feb. 26. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 pm HST, and you can listen on the radio at ESPN Honolulu.