In a Manoa Valley theatrical performance, the University of Hawaii basketball team surged to a 65-62 victory over UC Santa Barbara.

With new UH football coach Timmy Chang in attendance and 2,838 on the edge of their SimpliFi Arena seats, the Rainbow Warriors overcame an early 19-point deficit to win their seventh in a row and claim sole possession of first place in the Big West. Their 6-0 start is their best in 10 years of Big West membership.

“Always believed,” Chang said in the postgame celebration.

In the final sequence, UH’s Kamaka Hepa hit one of two free throws to make it 65-62 with 2.8 seconds to play. Calvin Wishart took the ensuing inbounds pass, sprint-dribbled across midcourt toward the path leading to UH’s Junior Madut. Wishart leaned into Madut while positioning for a 3-point shot. The ball slipped from Wishart’s grasp, and went to a trailing Amadou Sow, whose desperation heave came after time expired.

“I tried to draw a foul,” Wishart said.

Madut said he was ordered to stay put. “The coaches were yelling at me to not foul,” Madut said. “That was my objective from the beginning. He did a great job drawing contact, as well. I’m glad the refs didn’t call it, because I didn’t foul him. That was the main key.”

In the early going, it appeared the Gauchos were going to run away. UCSB, the Big West’s defending regular-season and tournament champion, raced to leads of 6-0, 17-2 and, with 11:12 left in the first half, 23-4.

“It would have been easy to lay down, but they didn’t,” Ganot said. “They chipped away. They played so hard for the last 34 minutes of the game. Some of the shots weren’t falling for us in the first half while we were doing that, but eventually they fell for us.”

Hepa, a 6-foot-10 wing, contributed to the comeback at both ends. He said he received a halftime pep talk from backup point guard JoVon McClanahan, who implored the Texas transfer to be less tentative. It was a sentiment shared by Ganot.

“We were hesitant when we weren’t making shots, which shouldn’t happen,” Ganot said. “Let it fly when we’re open. We have good shooters.”

Hepa buried four 3s, including one after Madut’s missed dunk caromed behind the arc. After watching Madut soar for the jam, Hepa recalled thinking, “OK, I’m out here. The ball came right to me. I thought, ‘All right, I might as well shoot it.’ ”

Madut said: “I don’t think I get an assist. I wish I made the dunk. But Kamaka was there for me.”

Madut, who finished with 18 points, was able to navigate past UCSB defenders for layups or pull-up jumpers. Amoro Lado came off the bench to score eight points on two 3s and a corner-cutting drive for a lay-in. McClanahan provided a lift when the ’Bows’ offense and defense were stagnant.

“When we’re down and we have a lack of energy, which should never happen, JoVon helps us,” Ganot said. “Even though it doesn’t always show up in the box score, he’s the igniter for us.”

The ’Bows also were able to contain the Gauchos’ power tandem of the 6-9 Sow and 6-10 Miles Norris. Sow scored 13 points the hard way, on second-chance baskets while being roughed up in the paint. Entering as a 58.8% shooter, Sow was 5-for-19. Four days after hitting nine 3s, Norris was 1-for-4 on 3s and finished with seven points.

The ’Bows, who took their first lead, at 44-42, on Hepa’s 3 with 8:23 to play, were strategically alert down the stretch. After Noel Coleman’s two free throws extended UH’s lead to 64-61 with 6.2 seconds left, the Gauchos worked for a trying shot. But Hepa fouled Josh Pierre-Louis with 3.4 seconds to play.

“The guys were smart about fouling at the end,” Ganot said. “This (victory) was a credit to the guys. They stayed together like they always stay together.”