Nov. 25, 2006
SANTA BARBARA (AP) - Brandon Heath scored 23 of his 29 points in the second half to rally unbeaten San Diego State to a 76-72 victory at UC Santa Barbara.
Heath, the Mountain West Conference MVP last year, made 5-of-8 shots from the 3-point line and also had four steals for the Aztecs (7-0).
Alex Harris led the Gauchos (4-1) with 21 points and six assists. His hook shot with 11:53 to go gave them their biggest lead of the game, at 48-40.
But Heath responded with a rare four-point play just 18 seconds later.
Harris' three-point play kept UCSB up by seven, 55-48, with 9:45 remaining, but a tip in by Lorenzo Wade sparked a 10-0 run for the Aztecs. Wade finished with 13 points, while Mohamed Abukar (14 points, nine rebounds) and Jerome Habel (14 points, seven rebounds) led San Diego State up front.
James Powell scored 12 of his 16 points in the first half to lead the Gauchos to a 31-29 lead. Chris Devine, UCSB's leader in rebounds with seven, scored 10 of his 14 points in the second half. Justin Joyner added 11 points.