Hawaii responds with win over Big West leader UC Riverside
Jan. 22—With no time to sulk, the Hawaii basketball team held on for a 67-63 victory over UC Riverside before 722 in SRC Arena in Riverside, Calif.
With no time to sulk, the Hawaii basketball team held on for a 67-63 victory over UC Riverside before 722 in SRC Arena in Riverside, Calif.
"Big response, " said UH coach Eran Ganot, whose'Bows rebounded from Thursday's road loss to UC Irvine to outlast the Big West's top team in a Saturday matinee. "I'm proud of our team. They've been professional and focused. After a good win or a tough loss, they've stayed consistent with the process. They put themselves in a position, and they got a big reward."
The outcome improved the'Bows to 15-5 overall and 6-2 in the Big West. The Highlanders, whose five-game winning streak ended, fell to 14-7 and 7-2.
"After a tough loss, it was great opportunity for us to respond against a good team on their court, " Ganot said, noting the Highlanders are "No. 1 in our league and playing really well."
UH point guard JoVon McClanahan scored 19 points and hit nine of 10 free throws, including two with 9.7 seconds remaining.
Bernardo da Silva, UH's 6-foot-9 post, produced 14 of his 18 points in the second half on 5-for-6 shooting. Beon Riley came off the bench to score all the points in a 7-0 run that widened the'Bows' lead to 58-46 with 9 :23 to play.
"Guys stepped up throughout the game, " Ganot said. "Bernardo did in the second half. Our bench gave us a lift. You need all that to get it done."
After UCR made the game's first basket, the'Bows scored the next seven points and would not trail again. But the'Bows' lead, which bloated to 14 points, dwindled to 65-63 when 6-foot-10 post Lachlan Olbrich scored on a driving layup with 1 :31 to play.
The Highlanders missed three chances when Jamal Hartwell, who entered connecting on 45 % of his 3s, could not get a shot from behind the arc to fall with 18 seconds to play. Flynn Cameron grabbed the offensive rebound and fed Zyon Pullin, who missed back-to-back layups.
McClanahan secured the rebound, and was fouled by Pullin with 9.7 seconds to play. McClanahan's two free throws were true.
After Hartwell misfired with 4 seconds to go. Bernardo da Silva grabbed his eighth rebound to seal UH's road victory.
The Highlanders constructed a 50-37 rebounding advantage despite forward Kyle Owens, who was on crutches, not being available.
"We didn't rebound like we normally do, and we've got to get better there, " Ganot said. "We put ourselves in tough positions because we were helping (to guard ) their dynamic guards so much. We could have done a better job there, too."
Pullin, who returned to the lineup on Thursday after missing five games because of an injury, finished with 14 points. Cameron, who took a turn at the point to ease Pullin's workload, finished with 13 points and 14 rebounds. Olbrich finished with 21 points and 10 boards.
But the Highlanders were held to 31.9 % shooting—they missed 12 of their first 17 layups—and were 6-for-22 on 3s.
UH committed only nine turnovers. The'Bows are 10-0 when they have 11 giveaways or fewer.
"We were able to balance with a good job taking care of the ball, " Ganot said, "and some really good performances."
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