A banked Ajay Mitchell floater with 1.9 seconds left dealt the University of Hawaii men’s basketball team a devastating 65-64 loss to UC Santa Barbara at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center on Thursday night.

Hawaii falls to 15-6 overall and 6-3 in Big West play, while UCSB improves to 17-3 overall and 8-1 in conference play.

Hawaii went cold in the first half, shooting just 7-for-29 from the field, including 2-for-13 from 3, but managed to trailed by just nine at the break.

The Rainbow Warriors started the second half on an 8-0 run, led by two Kamaka Hepa 3-pointers, and an 11-2 run for UH gave the ‘Bows a 64-63 led with 2:35 left. However, the ‘Bows did not score the rest of the way despite having their chances as UCSB, the preseason Big West favorite and current leader, leaves town with a win.

Mitchell had a game-high 24 points for UCSB and also had five rebounds and a team-high three assists.

For Hawaii, Samuta Avea had a team-high 13 points while Bernardo da Silva had 12 points on 4-for-12 shooting and was a rebound shy of a double-double.

UH closes out its homestand with a Saturday night game against Cal State Bakersfield on Saturday at 7 p.m.