HENDERSON, Nev. — What better place to double-down than in Las Vegas?
Just eight hours after the University of Hawai’i women’s basketball team punched its ticket to the Credit Union 1 Big West Conference Championship game, the men’s team did the same with a convincing 78-63 victory over Cal State Fullerton on Friday night.
The victory advanced the Warriors (23-8) to their first title game appearance since 2016. And another win against UC Irvine (23-10) at 4 p.m. Saturday will crown UH for the first time and earn an automatic NCAA Tournament bid since that same year.
The game will be televised live nationally on ESPN2 and broadcast via radio on ESPN Honolulu 1500.
A loud and mostly Hawai’i-based crowd of 2,060 in Lee’s Family Forum watched the Warriors start strong and hold off several Titans challenges before finally pulling away in the final eight minutes.
“Obviously an incredible feeling right now for a great group of kids, who have dealt with a great deal of adversity over the course of the year, and continue to shine,” UH coach Eran Ganot said. “I do want to thank our crowd, it felt like we were in the Stan (Sheriff Center) — the place was rocking. They’ve hung in with us all year, through the years … every team. Familiar faces, some new friends you see out there, alums … and I want to thank our admin, who was there in full support as always.
“The game, we knew it was going to be tough. It was kind of back-and-forth early … we challenged our team with the adversity to get our identity back, which — make no mistake — is defensively and on the glass. And that was a big key tonight, we held a potent offensive team in the 30’s (shooting perfentage), plus-25 or so on the boards, and we’re a team that gets to the line, and we shot it well from the line, and made clutch plays late.”
The Warriors jumped out to a 10-2 lead in the first three minutes but the Titans roared back and tied it at 13-13 on Kiwane Garris, Jr.’s layup eight minutes in.
Isaiah Kerr then sank two free throws to ignite a 16-5 run capped by Harry Rouhliadeff’s layup to push UH ahead, 29-18, with 1:40 remaining in the first half.
Bailey Nunn answered with a 3-pointer to close it to 29-21, where the score stood at halftime.
Cal State Fullerton then opened the second half with a 13-4 surge culminating in Christian Williams’ 3-pointer with 16:33 remaining. The game was tied at 44-44 with just under 11 minutes left, when Hunter Erickson hit a jumper to start the Warriors on a five-minute, 17-3 run capped by Isaac “Big Fish” Johnson’s free throws to give Hawai’i a commanding 61-47 lead.
Johnson later effectively sealed the victory with an emphatic fast break dunk to make it 73-55 with 2:16 left. The Warriors made 25 of 26 free throws (96.2 percent), many of them down the stretch.
“Their (the Titans) pace is so unique, it was more (about) matching their energy and slowing them down is a difficult task, they’ve been able to push it all season long,” said Johnson, who finished with a team-high 19 points to go with five rebounds. “So I think we did a good job stepping up to that challenge of matching their pace. There were a few times when they got us, but I think we did not allow them to do that time and again … I’m just proud of how we fought.”
Like Ganot, Johnson said the support from the Hawai’i contingent was significant — not just during the game, but including a Wednesday evening Pep Rally in the Triple 7 Brewery at the Main Street Station Hotel and Casino in downtown Las Vegas and a team sendoff Friday as the team walked to and boarded their bus from the Park MGM Hotel on The Strip. Fans, the UH band, cheerleaders and Rainbow Dancers made an impressive showing at each venue.
“Absolutely the crowd was amazing,” said Johnson, a grad transfer from Utah State in his first season with the Warriors. “It’s pretty awesome … they traveled really well, we even have our quarterback (Micah Alejado) here. We have amazing fans, they set the standard, and it was incredible. Great atmosphere.”
Ganot added, “How does that not take you to another level? So this was a program win, an institutional win, a community win. I really appreciate it.”