UC Santa Barbara fan confronts Hawaii coach

Associated Press

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) — A UC Santa Barbara basketball fan ran on the court and confronted Hawaii coach Gib Arnold during the Gauchos' 86-77 victory over the Rainbow Warriors on Thursday night.

The male student stormed the court while Arnold was arguing with the referees after Hawaii's Brandon Spearman was called for an intentional foul.

Hawaii forward Christian Standhardinger pushed the fan away from Arnold. Teammate Garrett Nevels also shoved away the fan, who gestured for the players to come after him as he backpedaled off the court.

"The student will obviously face legal action," Santa Barbara athletic department spokesman Bill Mahoney said. "He will also be subject to action from a judicial review board through UCSB student affairs. ... I can't speculate on the penalties."

The tense scene came a week after New Mexico State's K.C. Ross-Miller hurled the ball at Utah Valley's Holton Hunsaker seconds after a game in Orem, Utah, triggering a brawl that involved fans on the court.

Alan Williams led Santa Barbara (20-8, 11-4 Big West) with 18 points and 11 rebounds, Kyle Boswell had 17 and Zalmico Harmon 16. The Gauchos wrapped up at least the second seed in the Big West tournament, remaining a game behind first-place Irvine with one game left for each in the regular season.

"I was happy with a lot of things tonight," coach Bob Williams said. "While I wasn't happy that we didn't close the game out strong, I thought getting the lead to 19 points against a quality opponent was impressive. I was also happy that Bos finished his home career with a very good game."

Santa Barbara reached 20 wins for the third time in five seasons and the 12th time overall.

Standhardinger had 18 points for Hawaii (19-10, 8-7), and Keith Shamburger added 16.

Santa Barbara used a 23-5 run early in the first half — including three 3-pointers by Bryson — to open up a 28-12 lead. Hawaii countered with a 10-0 run just before half to cut it to 39-27.

Boswell's layup with 11:22 left put Santa Barbara up 19 at 59-40. Hawaii trimmed it to seven with 23 seconds left on Aaron Valdes' 3-pointer.