UCSB tops UCI for Big West title, NCAA Tournament berth

<p>LAS VEGAS &mdash; JaQuori McLaughlin scored 16 of his 22 points in the second half to help UC Santa Barbara beat UC Irvine 79-63 on Saturday night and win the Big West Conference Tournament. </p>
<p>The Gauchos have won 18 of their last 19 since losing back-to-back games against UCI on Dec. 27 and Dec. 28 to open conference play and earned their first berth into the NCAA Tournament since 2011. </p>
<p>McLaughlin hit two 3s and Robinson Idehen scored four points in a 10-0 run that gave the Gauchos their biggest lead at 59-44 with 8:22 to play. The Anteaters, who had their six-game win streak snapped, trailed by double figures the rest of the way. </p>
<p>Miles Norris added 19 points and Amadou Sow had 13 points and 11 rebounds for UCSB. </p>
<p>Collin Welp lead UCI (18-9) with 22 points and DJ Davis added 11. </p>
<p>UCSB, which led for 37 minutes, 31 seconds, committed a season-low tying seven turnovers and scored 18 points off 10 Anteaters miscues.</p>
<p>The Gauchos shot 56.7% from the field in the second half and made 29 of 58 overall. </p>
<p>UC Irvine won the regular season and conference tournament crowns to earn a No. 13 seed in the 2019 NCAA Tournament. The Anteaters beat No. 4 seed Kansas State before losing to Oregon in the second round. </p>
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