UC Santa Barbara Gauchos vs UC Irvine Anteaters
Late run helps UC Irvine beat UCSB 61-58 in Big West semis
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Reserves Max Hazzard and Elston Jones combined to score 27 points on 10-of-15 shooting and UC Irvine held UC Santa Barbara without a field goal for the final five-plus minutes to beat the Gauchos 61-58 on Friday night in the Big West Conference Tournament.
Hazzard made 5 of 8 from the field and finished with 16 points and Jones, a redshirt junior, scored a career-high 11 with nine rebounds. John Edgar Jr. had 14 points and Eyassu Worku scored 12 with seven assists for UC Irvine (18-16).
The third-seeded Anteaters will play No. 4 seed CS Fullerton in the championship game on Sunday. UCI and the Titans split the regular-season series, with each team winning on the other's home floor.
Jalen Canty's jumper with 9:29 to play gave second-seeded UCSB (23-9) a 51-45 lead, matching the biggest by either team. The Gauchos missed their next four field-goal attempts before Marcus Jackson's 3-pointer pushed their lead to four about four minutes later. Jones answered with a tipin, Hazzard made two free throws and Edgar added a layup to put UCI up by two before Worku hit a jumper to cap the scoring with 45 seconds remaining. UCSB scored just one point and went 0 for 9 from the field in the final five minutes.
Max Heidigger led the Gauchos with 18 points, but was just 4-of-16 shooting. UCSB shot 32 percent (18 of 56) from the field.
The Anteaters had a 31-1 advantage in bench points.
UCSB won just six games in 2016-17 and tied the school record with 23 wins this season. The 17-game improvement was the best in the nation.
Game Information
Anaheim, CA
Referee:Mike Scyphers
Referee:Deron White
Referee:Jeff Wooten
2025-26 Standings
| Big West ConferenceBig West Conference | CONF | GB | OVR |
|---|---|---|---|
| UC Irvine | 8-2 | - | 15-7 |
| Hawai'i | 8-3 | 0.5 | 16-5 |
| UC Santa Barbara | 7-3 | 1 | 14-7 |
| UC Davis | 6-5 | 2.5 | 13-9 |
| Cal State Northridge | 6-5 | 2.5 | 13-10 |
| Cal State Fullerton | 5-5 | 3 | 10-12 |
| UC San Diego | 5-6 | 3.5 | 15-8 |
| Cal Poly | 5-6 | 3.5 | 9-14 |
| Long Beach State | 4-7 | 4.5 | 8-15 |
| UC Riverside | 3-8 | 5.5 | 8-15 |
| Cal State Bakersfield | 2-9 | 6.5 | 8-15 |
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