Montana St. 72, UC Santa Barbara 61

Junior guard Erik Rush had 17 points and career highs of nine rebounds and seven assists as Montana State pulled away in the second half for a 76-64 victory over UC Santa Barbara on Friday night.

Rush and senior forward Branden Johnson each had 13 points in the second half for the Bobcats (6-4), who notched their first win in 10 tries against the Gauchos. Junior guard Danny Piepoli added 14 points for the Bobcats, who led 34-29 at intermission.

Sophomore forward James Nunnally had 13 points and six rebounds for UC Santa Barbara (4-3), which lost its third straight after opening with four wins. Sophomore forward Orlando Johnson scored 12.

Montana State opened the second half with a 10-3 run for a 44-32 lead with 15:11 to play. Johnson scored the Bobcats' first 13 points of the half on four 3-pointers plus a foul shot.