Santa Barbara tops Cal Poly 50-45 for first Big West win

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (AP) Gabe Vincent scored 15 points and Alan Williams pulled down 15 rebounds as UC Santa Barbara opened Big West Conference play with a 50-45 win over Cal Poly Saturday night.

The Gauchos (8-7, 1-0), winners now of three straight, lost to Cal Poly, 69-38, in the first round of the Big West tournament a year ago.

The Mustangs led at the half, 23-20, and pushed it to 28-20 in the second half as Santa Barbara went scoreless for the first time minutes of the half.

Santa Barbara shot 37 percent from the field, connecting on 17 of 46 shots, including 7 for 18 from beyond the arc. Cal Poly, meanwhile, was a frigid 15 of 64 from the floor (23.4 percent) and 4 of 22 from distance.

Joel Awich scored 13 points and Brian Bennett scored 10 points and grabbed 10 boards to lead Cal Poly (8-6, 1-1).