SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- John Green came out firing to start the second half as UC Santa Barbara broke open a 40-40 halftime tie to post an 83-75 win over UC Riverside in a Big West Conference showdown Thursday night.

Green knocked down a 3-pointer a minute into the second half and followed that with a jumper as the Gauchos took the lead for good with a 7-0 run. He followed with a three-point play and a free throw to make it an 11-4 run.

Green finished with 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the floor, including 2 of 2 from distance, to lead Santa Barbara (9-9, 2-2 Big West), which finished shooting 51.7 percent from the floor as a team (30 of 58). Mitch Brewe finished with 18 points and Michael Bryson added 16 more.

Jaylen Bland scored 21 points to lead Riverside (9-10, 2-3). Steven Thornton added 19.