Brandon Jawato wasn’t the only one who was in a zone.
The Hawaii freshman’s lights out 7-for-7 shooting on 3-pointers in the first half was key on offense in UH’s 76-61 win over UC Riverside on Saturday. But a specialized zone defense featuring backup center Davis Rozitis helped break the game open at the other end of the Stan Sheriff Center.
While Jawato was bombing away to tie the Big West Conference and UH records for 3-point makes without a miss (and set the UH freshman record for treys made), the Highlanders had no answer on offense. They failed to score on eight straight possessions when UH switched to its "point zone" near the midpoint of the first half.
In that unique look, the lanky 7-foot Rozitis positions himself at the top of the arc in a 1-2-2 formation … until the ball is swung to either wing or the corners. Then he drops back into the paint and keeps himself positioned between the ball and the rim.
"While we play that zone, we really go on runs against people," Rozitis said. "When I play up top, I see that look in the point guard’s eyes. It’s like, confusing nothingness. They don’t know what to do because they’re not used to seeing a 7-foot guy playing up top against them."
The ‘Bows seized upon the Highlanders’ uncertainty to go on a 14-0 run, during which Jawato hit three straight 3s. UH led by 19 at halftime and at least 13 the rest of the way.
"That was the difference in the ballgame," UCR coach Jim Wooldridge said. "And the ineptness of our offense when they threw that zone up. Those two things simultaneously were going on."
UH (9-5 overall) moved to 3-0 in its new home, the Big West, its best league start since its last NCAA Tournament season of 2001-02. The ‘Bows opened the Western Athletic Conference with six wins that year en route to winning the regular season and the league tournament.
The team departs today, the first day of the spring semester, for California to prepare for its first BWC road games at UC Irvine (7-9, 1-2) on Wednesday and at defending champion and preseason favorite Long Beach State (6-8, 2-1) on Saturday.
With the point zone’s recent success, expect it to make at least one appearance on the trip. UH first tried it out in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic and it had its moments against Cal State Northridge on Dec. 29, as well.
The ‘Bows went back to it for a shorter stretch in the second half, forcing two quick turnovers out of it. They stayed in it nearly all of the 14 total minutes Rozitis played in relief of senior Vander Joaquim.
UH coach Gib Arnold credited his father, former UH coach Frank, with diagramming the zone during a family wedding over the summer.
"It was something I’ve been wanting to put in. I didn’t get to it as early as I liked to," Arnold said.
"It’s tough for a big guy, unless you got good feet," he continued. "And I think Davis Rozitis is perfect for that. He can do that, and so when he goes in there, we go right to it. He’s taken ownership of it, and good for him. He likes it, it’s fun, it’s helped us three different occasions."
UH first went to the point zone against the Highlanders (4-11, 1-2) coming out of a timeout with 11:15 left in the first half, leading 11-10.
It immediately spooked UCR guard Austin Quick into lobbing a ball into the long arms of Rozitis, kicking off a stretch of more than five minutes where the Highlanders could not score against the unusual formation.
"Last night, No. 1 (Robert Smith) was looking at me, looking at his coach, looking at me, looking at his coach again. Asking his coach with his eyes, ‘So what do I do here?’ " Rozitis said.
Jawato did not score in the second half — he went out with leg cramps shortly after checking in, and by the time he returned to play, the game was well in hand — but he still finished with a career high of 21. He now has the most triples on the team this season (19) and raised his average from deep to 52.8 percent, also best on the team.
Joaquim scored 11 as part of his fifth double-double of the season. He has 963 points — 37 away from becoming UH’s 15th 1,000-point scorer.
