As good as advertised and apparently inspired by its new solo perch atop the Big West Conference men’s basketball standings, visiting UC Santa Barbara stole away any hopes of an upset from Hawai’i and held off the Warriors, 59-50, in a key showdown Friday night at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
Amadou Sow scored 14 points and grabbed four rebounds, Jaquori McLaughlin added 14 points and four assists, and Josh Pierre-Louis contributed 11 points, three steals and three boards off the bench as the Gauchos won their ninth straight game and improved to 13-3 overall and 7-2 in the Big West, good for sole possession of first place after previous co-leader UC Irvine was upset at UC Riverside earlier in the day.