Needing a win in the worst way, Hawai’i got one the hard way in a narrow 62-60 victory over visiting Long Beach State in Big West Coneference men’s basketball action Thursday night.
A vocal and supportive crowd of 2,607 in SimpliFi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center watched Ryan Rapp score 10 points with two rebounds and one steal and Marcus Greene add 10 points off the bench as the Warriors snapped a two-game slide and improved to 14-11 overall and 6-8 in league play. TJ Wainwright scored a game-high 20 points and Devin Askew added 16 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals for The Beach, which fell to 7-19, 3-11.
UH looked to be in control after Tanner Christensen’s slam dunk for a 57-46 lead with 3:43 remaining, but Wainwright answered by draining a 3-pointer from beyond the top of the key 20 seconds later to ignite a 12-3 run capped by Kam Martin’s triple from around the same spot which closed it to 60-58 with 10.4 ticks on the clock.
Greene was fouled after the ensuing inbounds pass and sank both free throws to make it 62-58, and Derrick Xzavierro finished the scoring with a dunk at the buzzer.
“I’m really proud of our guys … I just know, I can feel the identity returning,” Warriors coach Eran Ganot said. “And that is defend and rebound. Today I thought our fight and toughness was there. How do you overcome a team? You dominate the defensive end, you dominate the glass … We went through some adversity, struggled a bit of late, but we’re capable. Both teams are capable, you could see how talented they are they’re big, they’re shooting, they have a point-of-attack guy (Askew) who is no easy task.
“We were fortunate to come out on the positive end tonight.”
Hawai’i trailed for only one minute of game time, but it was anything but easy throughout.
The play was physical from the tip-off, and Warriors starting point guard Kody Williams left the game at the 8:51 mark in the first half with an apparent right ankle injury after going to the floor hard near the baseline. He did not return, and Ganot said his status is day-to-day.
Greene entered as a replacement and later gave the Warriors a 29-22 lead on a turnaround jumper in the lane with 50 seconds left before halftime. Askew sank two free throws to make it 29-24 at the break.
“I wouldn’t say I was waiting for that moment (Williams’ injury), just when that moment came, I was ready to play,” Greene said. “Kody is a great player for us, in the locker room and on the court, so it sucks to see him go down. But we know that it’s part of the game, and that’s why we hacve a squad of 15.”
In the second half, UH extended the lead to 45-33 midway through after Gytis Nemeiksa’s turnaround baseline jumper, and seemed on the verge of sealing the win after Christensen’s dunk with 3:43 remaining made the score 57-46.
But Wainwright scored nine straight points — on two 3-pointers sandwiched around three free throws — and Martin drained his clutch triple to make it 60-58 with 10.4 showing on the clock.
“It was just staying in the moment and keep pushing towards the 40-minute (mark),” said Warriors guard Tom Beattie. “Askew played 40 minutes, Wainwright played 38 — those are guys who can kill you over the 40 minutes. To stay locked in throughout the whole thing, just shows the lock-in that we’ve got now.”
Hawai’i completes its homestand at 7 p.m. Saturday against UC Irvine.
Big West Conference Standings
UC Irvine 11-2
UC San Diego 11-2
Cal State Northridge 9-4
UC Davis 9-5
UC Riverside 9-5
UC Santa Barbara 8-6
HAWAI’I 6-8
Cal State Bakersfield 4-10
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo 4-9
Long Beach State 3-11
Cal State Fullerton 1-13