Weathering some turbulence in both halves and finishing strong, Hawai’i rallied past and then held off UC Riverside, 83-76, Thursday night for a key Big West Conference road victory.
A student-heavy crowd of 1,235 at the Highlanders’ Student Recreation Center Arena watched Tanner Christensen score a team-high 18 points with nine rebounds and Akira Jacobs add 12 points as the Warriors improved to 10-5 overall and 2-2 in league play. Isaiah Moses scored a game-high 26 points off the bench and point guard Barrington Hargress added 19 points with three boards and two assists for UCR, which fell to 10-7, 3-2.
The Highlanders led, 55-51, with 9:36 remaining in the game after Hargress drained a 3-pointer from beyond the top of the key, but Harry Rouhliadeff answered with his own triple from around the same spot at the other end to ignite a 21-7 run capped by Gytis Nemeiksa’s free throw five minutes later to put UH ahead, 72-62.
UC Riverside closed it to 74-70 after Kaleb Smith’s short banker capped an 8-2 surge with 1:33 left, but the Warriors responded with true freshman Aaron Hunkin-Claytor’s free throw 20 seconds later and then another 3-pointer by Rouhliadeff to push the lead back to 78-70 at the 50-second mark, and the Highlanders could not get closer than five points the rest of the way.
“I thought we came out of the gates really well, and then they went to really trying to get after us,” Hawai’i coach Eran Ganot said in a postgame radio interview. “We talk about on the road, you need to be tough, extra tough, and we got some tough-guy plays from so many guys. That is what changed.”
The Warriors started surprisingly fast, jumping out to a 17-7 lead after Ryan Rapp capped a 12-2 run with a 3-pointer from beyond the top of the key with 13:25 remaining in the first half. But UCR answered with Moses’ steal and fast break layup which started a 15-2 surge culminating in Smith’s 3-pointer five minutes later to put the Highlanders ahead, 22-19.
Hawai’i responded with a 9-0 run topped by Jacobs’ 3-pointer at the 3-minute mark for a 28-22 lead, only to see UC Riverside punch back with its own 8-0 surge to end the half with a 30-28 lead.
In the second half, after Smith converted a three-point play to put the Highlanders up, 62-61, with seven minutes left, Hunkin-Claytor swished a 3-pointer from beyond the top of the key to ignite an 11-0 run capped by Nemeiksa’s free throws for the 72-62 lead at the 4:26 mark.
Christensen, a sturdy 6-foot-10 post, scored all 18 of his points after halftime.
“They went a little smaller (in the lineup) to try to generate the press, and he was more aggressive to find good spots,” Ganot said. “And our guards found him. He’s a handful, you gotta guard him for 40 (minutes).”
The Warriors will continue their road trip with a Saturday game at Cal State Fullerton.
Big West Conference Standings
UC San Diego 4-0
UC Irvine 4-0
Cal State Northridge 3-2
UC Davis 3-2
UC Riverside 3-2
Long Beach State 2-2
UC Santa Barbara 2-2
HAWAI’I 2-2
Cal State Bakersfield 2-3
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo 0-5
Cal State Fullerton 0-5