A ‘Senior Night’ that also was a “Must Win Night” achieved both goals Saturday, as Hawai’i denied UC Davis, 78-70, for a crucial Big West Conference men’s basketball victory.
A supportive and appreciative crowd of 3,467 in SimpliFi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center watched senior center Tanner Christensen notch team highs with 16 points and nine rebounds as the Warriors improved to 15-14 overall and 7-11 in league play, with two regular season games remaining (both on the road).
Ty Johnson scored a game-high 26 points and Pablo Tamba added 19 points for the Aggies, who fell to 15-14, 9-9.
UH snapped a three-game losing streak and is now in sole possession of seventh place; only the top eight teams (out of 11) after the regular season concludes on Saturday will advance to the Big West Tournament set for March 12-15 in Henderson, Nev.
After Thursday night’s 82-76 home loss to UC Riverside — the Warriors’ eighth defeat in 10 games — head coach Eran Ganot stated two objectives against UC Davis: 1. Come out ready to play, and 2. When they hit us, be able to respond.
Ganot said Hawai’i, which jumped out to leads of 7-1 and 14-5 and never trailed thereafter, achieved both goals.
“Yeah, we came out 7-1 and 14-5, they made their move, and we responded each time,” Ganot said. “I’m so pleased (with) the way we bounced back and responded against a really good team, a tough team that had a week to prepare. Really proud of our guys, a lot of guys, because everybody stepped up when we needed to.”
The Warriors took a 7-1 lead in the first two minutes and led 14-5 after Christensen’s hook shot capped a 7-0 run with 13:24 remaining in the first half. The Aggies eventually tied it at 21-21 on Tamba’s layup with 7:44 left, but UH answered with Harry Rouhliadeff’s two free throws that ignited a 14-4 surge culminating in Tom Beattie’s layup that put the Warriors ahead, 35-25, with 2:36 remaining.
UC Davis closed it to 49-48 after a pair of free throws by Tamba eight minutes in, but Hawai’i responded again with Akira Jacobs’ fastbreak layup that sparked a 9-1 run capped by Marcus Greene’s 3-pointer that made it 58-49 with another Greene 3-pointer midway through the second half.
The closest the Aggies got after that was 61-56, after Johnson’s two free throws with 7:31 left, but the Warriors answered with one last 11-4 run capped by Ryan Rapp’s two free throws to make it 72-60 with 52 seconds remaining.
“We believe in the group, and we’ve shown the talent that we can put out there on the floor,” said Rapp, a senior guard and co-captain. “I still think we can improve, based on what we did tonight. But I was really happy with how we responded. As long as we keep being aggressive and finding all the little details in our game, I think we are going a long way.”
After the game, the five UH seniors (Jerome Palm, Marcus Greene, Gytis Nmeiksa, Christensen and Rapp) were individually introduced on the court and performed their last shot or dunk, then were greeted by lei from family and friends.
“I don’t know if anywhere else does it really like this, and so it’s a super cool experience, really fun,” said Christensen, a graduate transfer from Utah Tech. “Obviously it makes it way better after getting the win.”
Rapp said he was able to hold back tears during the festivities, but not without much effort.
“All the guys were like, ‘Please don’t cry,’ and I think I’ve done a really good job of that,” said Rapp, who is in his third season with the Warriors after transferring from Washington State. “Getting to this moment, it’s just surreal. Hard work does pay off in the end, especially if you really want it, as bad as I really wanted it. I’ve got the best teammates in the world, and we’ve still got an unwritten story to go, we’ve still got two more (regular season) games.
“It’s a great feeling to get a win again. I think this situation we’re in right now, this adversity, is going to make us stronger. I’m just looking forward to see what this story will unfold for us.”
UH headed to California on Tuesday for its game at Cal State Bakersfield on Thursday.
Big West Conference Standings
- UC San Diego 16-2
- UC Irvine 15-3
- Cal State Northridge 13-5
- UC Riverside 12-6
- UC Santa Barbara 11-7
- UC Davis 9-9
- HAWAI’I 7-11
- Cal State Bakersfield 7-12
- Cal Poly San Luis Obispo 6-12
- Long Beach State 3-15
- Cal State Fullerton 1-17
NOTE: Only the top eight teams at the end of the regular season will qualify for the Big West Tournament set for March 12-15 in Henderson, Nev.