Down two key reserves, down by six points at the intermission, the Hawaii basketball team relied on a menacing defense and clutch shooting to ascend to a 69-62 victory over UC San Diego at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
Thursday night’s crowd of 3,030 saw the ’Bows vaporize a 35-29 deficit and then out-shoot the Tritons down the stretch to improve to 18-7 overall and 9-4 in the Big West.
The Tritons, who have taken leads into the intermission in 10 of 13 Big West games, fell to 8-17 and 3-10.
“We had a little lull,” UCSD coach Eric Olen said of his team’s 1-for-13 shooting to start the second half. “We had a hard time scoring for a stretch. We’re not the only ones … they’re a really good defensive team.”
The short-staffed ’Bows were without injured Beon Riley, a four-position defender, and backup point guard Justus Jackson. But forward Harry Rouhliadeff came off the bench to hit two 3s, Zoar Nedd played aggressive defense when wing Samuta Avea needed a break, and point guard Kody Williams helped slow blur-quick Roddie Anderson III in the second half.
“We got lifts off the bench,” UH coach Eran Ganot said. “We had another man down (Riley) — we’ve already had enough men down — but Kody, Harry, Zoar gave us a lift.”
It was the ’Bows’ defense, anchored by 6-foot-9 post Bernardo da Silva, that sparked a 15-0 run for a 47-38 lead. In the first half, UCSD forward Francis Nwaokorie was able to rotate to the top of the key for open 3s or bully his way through the lane for layups. After that, da Silva tracked Nwaokorie’s orbital path to challenge outside shots and then retreated to protect the rim.
“Da Silva was much more of a factor at both ends in the second half,” Olen said. Da Silva scored his eight points and grabbed seven of his 12 rebounds after the intermission.
The Tritons cut the deficit to two points several times, due in large part to late 3-point shooting. But Avea scored 11 of his 17 points in the final 5:04. During a stretch when Avea scored nine of UH’s 11 points, two baskets came on second-chance plays. Avea caught a long rebound, then drove the lane for a lay-in. He also grabbed JoVon McClanahan’s missed 3, recycling it for a putback.
“We challenged him with that,” Ganot said of imploring Avea to attack the offensive glass. “He’s got to get on the boards on those winning plays. … We’ve got to understand that is our identity.”
Avea said: “I just think it’s discipline, staying at it. (The coaches) get on me when I don’t crash. And I get on myself. The more I can limit the time when (I’m not) disciplined, and go every time, the better our chances to get the board.”
UH guard Noel Coleman hit four 3s in the second half to finish with 19 points. Coleman also held Bryce Pope, who entered averaging 18.6 points, to 4-for-15 shooting. Pope finished with 10 points.
“I kind of played bad defense in (the previous meeting) in San Diego,” Coleman said. “All I wanted to do was just take him out of the game.”
Coleman noted that Pope’s creativity is not easy to defend. “It’s a weird release,” Coleman said. “It’s high up. You think it’s a floater, but it’s actually a shot. It’s hard to contest. All you can do is your best.”
The Tritons were without 7-foot Emmanuel Tshimanga, a transfer from UC Irvine, who missed his third consecutive game.
In the second half, attrition hit the officiating crew. Referee Andy Cohn suffered a hamstring injury in the second half, leaving two officials to call the rest of the game.
After the game, the ‘Bows went to press row to offer condolences to play-by-play announcer Kanoa Leahey, whose father Jim Leahey died last week. The elder Leahey was a long-time announcer for UH sportscasts.
