Jaime Serna had 19 points and nine rebounds as UC Santa Barbara rallied from an 11-point second-half deficit to defeat UC Riverside 60-52 Saturday night.
James Nunnally added 15 points and Orlando Johnson had 12 for the Gauchos (13-8, 8-3 Big West), who won despite shooting 35 percent from the floor and making 3 of 15 3-point attempts.
Riverside (11-14, 5-7) got 17 points from Phil Martin and 11 each from Robert Smith and Elliott Berry. The Highlanders also struggled offensively, shooting 38 percent overall and making 1 of 13 3-pointers.
Santa Barbara trailed 34-23 early in the second half but used an 11-2 run to pull within 36-34 with 11:57 remaining. A 3-pointer from Nunnally with 7:11 left put the Gauchos ahead, 42-40, and started a 9-2 run that made it 48-42 with 4:56 to go. Riverside never got closer than three points the rest of the way.
