"Shoot! … shoot! … shoot!" the Stan Sheriff Center crowd of maybe 5,500 beseeched guard Brandon Jawato with 0.38 seconds remaining Saturday night in the University of Hawaii’s long-decided game against UC Riverside.

And Jawato, standing just beyond the 3-point arc, held the ball.

"Shoot!" they implored some more, and Jawato, under strict orders to let time expire, held firm without taking aim at an eighth consecutive 3-pointer.

Jawato’s non-attempt at the school record for consecutive 3-point shots without a miss in a game was what passed for drama on a night when the Rainbow Warriors had no trouble putting away the offensively inept Highlanders, 76-61.

Trevor Ruffin holds the overall UH record for 3-pointers in a game (10), made in 11 attempts against Louisville in 1993. Not since Matt Lojeski hit all seven 3s in 2007 had anybody made as many in a row in one game.

While many in the crowd knew the record was within Jawato’s grasp, the knowledge eluded both the redshirt freshman from El Segundo, Calif., and his coach, Gib Arnold.

A record would have been the perfect exclamation point on a night when the ‘Bows (9-5 overall) remained tied with Cal Poly for the Big West lead at 3-0.

"I didn’t know about the record," Jawato said.

And, if he had been informed?

"I probably would’ve shot it," he said with a smile.

JAWATO HAD a career night, making all seven 3-point attempts for 21 points to match UCR’s first-half point total. The seven makes without a miss tied the Big West mark.

"He was remarkable," said Riverside coach Jim Wooldridge. "We knew he was a good shooter, as we had identified him (on the scouting report). We just lost him a couple of times."

Jawato came off the bench 5 minutes, 48 seconds into the game and shortly thereafter proceeded to take it over. He effortlessly hit four consecutive 3-point shots to fuel a 15-2 run that took UH from an 8-all tie to a 23-10 lead.

And that, along with UH’s inside domination, "was the ballgame," Wooldridge said.

By way of comparison, the Highlanders didn’t make a 3-point basket until their 11th try, with 17:02 left in the second half.

"After the first couple (shots) went in, I felt like I had a rhythm," Jawato said. "Everything went in."

It was a rhythm that only a severe cramp suffered 31 seconds into his second-half insertion, not the Highlanders’ defense, could break.

Jawato, who walked and stretched in the arena tunnel, did not re-enter the game until the final 6 minutes and 30 seconds, and was hounded thereafter by the Highlanders.

"Maybe next time I’ll get it (the record)," Jawato sighed.

With three and a half seasons remaining at UH, there will, indeed, be plenty of time for him to try.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.