SANTA BARBARA (AP) -Chris Devine returned from an ankle injury to score a game-high 15 points and lead UC Santa Barbara to an 81-61 basketball victory over winless Loyola Marymount on Saturday night.
Devine, who hadn't played since spraining his ankle on Nov. 30, made 6-of-12 shots and grabbed five rebounds as UCSB (5-4) got its fourth win in its last five games. He scored four points just before the end of the first half to put the Gauchos ahead 35-26.
LaRon Armstead scored 16 points and Corey Counts added 14 for the Lions (0-9), who were victimized by 22 turnovers. D.J. Posley's four steals led a Gaucho defense that had 11 takeaways.
James Powell scored nine of his 14 points in the first five minutes of the second half to increase the Gaucho lead to 21 points. His back-to-back three pointers and a layup put UCSB ahead 51-30 with 15:23 remaining.
The Gauchos shot 60.7 percent in the second half and 46.9 percent for the game to the Lions' 40 percent. Jesse Byrd's nine rebounds helped UCSB gain a 38-35 advantage on the backboards.
