“Better” was still not good enough for the University of Hawai’i men’s basketball team Thursday night, as UC Riverside turned back the Warriors, 82-76, in crucial Big West Conference action.
A supportive and hopeful crowd of 2,354 in SimpliFi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center watched sophomore guard Barrington Hargress score a game-high 25 points and Isaiah Moses and Kaleb Smith each add 14 points as the Highlanders improved to 19-11 overall and 12-6 in league play. Gytis Nemeiksa scored 17 points and Ryan Rapp added 11 points for the Warriors, who fell to 14-14 and 6-11.
Most significantly, UH dropped into eighth place in the conference standings, just one game ahead of ninth-place Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (5-12) with three regular season games remaining. Only the top eight teams will advance to the Big West Tournament set for March 12-15 in Henderson, Nev.
“We’re going through some tough things,” Warriors coach Eran Ganot said. “(But) our group is never fragmented. They gave a great effort late to give us a chance. We wanted to lengthen the game, hopefully force some turnovers, got in some tough positions, couldn’t quite get the big steal. We made them make free throws to give us a chance, tried to get to the rim quick. But give them credit for making key free throws.”
Hawai’i led, 36-35, after a back-and-forth and fast-paced first half, and the score was tied at 48-48 with 13:38 remaining in the game.
But Moses scored on a layup and short fadeaway jumper to ignite a 12-3 run capped by Smith’s 3-pointer from the left corner to put UC Riverside ahead, 60-51, nine minutes into the second half.
The Warriors later closed it to 69-64 with 3:19 remaining, but Nate Pickens answered with two free throws to spark an 8-2 run culminating in Hargress’ two free throws to push the lead to 77-66, effectively sealing the victory with 57 seconds left.
“I think our effort was better today, but we got killed on one-on-one defense with two guards (Hargress and Moses) coming at us,” Rapp said. “We need to step it up overall.”
UH’s defense took a hit earlier this week when starting guard Kody Williams injured his right hand in practice and was declared out indefinitely. Williams has been regarded as one of the Warriors’ best defenders.
“He gave Barrington fits in that first game,” Highlanders coach Mike Magpayo said.
Hargress and Moses gave Hawai’i fits with their aggressive drives to the basket and acrobatic finishes. Ganot said the key was stopping them at the point-of-attack, something the Warriors struggled to do.
“Defensively … our point-of-attack was really disappointing,” Ganot said. “During that stretch where they separated, (it was) really poor point-of-attack defense … and then our wall wasn’t there. That was disappointing, and obviously was a big key in this game.”
Rapp said Hargress and Moses were particularly tough covers.
“They are two really good players — Riverside (overall) as well, they’re well-coached,” Rapp said. “Those two guys are really quick, they’re very aggressive, and once they see one basket go in, they’re gonna get comfortable and play with free will out there. I feel like we gave them too many good looks early on, to make them feel more comfortable than we would have liked to.”
In the second half, the Highlanders’ shooting percentage jumped from 43.2 percent (16 of 37) to 56.5 percent (13 of 23), including 50 percent (4 for 8) from 3-point range, compared to 27.3 percent (3 of 11) accuracy from behind the arc in the first half.
Just as significant, UCR made 17 of 20 free throw attempts (85 percent) in the second half, after not getting to the line at all in the game’s first 24 minutes.
Big West Conference Standings
- UC San Diego 15-2
- UC Irvine 14-3
- Cal State Northridge 12-5
- UC Riverside 12-6
- UC Santa Barbara 11-7
- UC Davis 9-8
- Cal State Bakersfield 7-11
- HAWAI’I 6-11
- Cal Poly San Luis Obispo 5-12
- Long Beach State 3-14
- Cal State Fullerton 1-16