SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) — James Nunnally scored 28 points and made six 3-pointers to lead UC Santa Barbara to a 76-61 victory against Pacific on Thursday night.
Orlando Johnson had 24 points, nine rebounds and made four 3-pointers for the Gauchos (17-9, 11-4 Big West), who moved into a second-place tie with idle Cal State Fullerton in the conference standings. The teams split two games this season.
Ross Rivera scored 17 points off the bench for the Tigers (11-17, 6-9), who are tied for fourth with UC Riverside and UC Irvine and jockeying for seeding in next week’s Big West tournament.
UC Santa Barbara shot 60 percent (15 for 25) in the second half to break open a game that was tied at 36-all at the break.
Nunnally scored nine points during an 18-5 run over a 6:21 second-half stretch. Alan Williams punctuated the surge with a dunk that gave the Gauchos a 70-56 lead with 5:18 remaining.
