Fighting to extend its season, the Hawaii basketball team gutted out a 78-70 victory over UC Davis on Saturday in SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
A crowd of 3,467 saw the Rainbows weather a please-please-please comeback attempt from the Aggies to improve to 15-14 overall and 7-11 in the Big West. The ’Bows reclaimed seventh place with two road games remaining in the regular season. By ending a three-game losing streak, the ’Bows now can clinch a berth in the Big West Tournament if they defeat UC Bakersfield this Thursday.
“That was huge,” UH guard Tom Beattie said. “It was good to get, especially against a good team like Davis. To get any win, especially on senior night, was good for us.”
The ’Bows had fallen into eighth place on Thursday with the combination of losing to UC Riverside and Bakersfield defeating Long Beach State to move into seventh. But CSUB lost to Cal Poly on Saturday, setting up a must-win scenario for the ’Bows against UC Davis, which entered on a three-game losing streak.
“It was good to come back, especially after the game we had on Thursday,” Beattie said.
The ’Bows scored seven of the game’s first eight points and, except for a brief tie at 21, led the rest of the game.
In recent games, the ’Bows struggled with their interior offense, either not feeding the bigs enough or failing to convert on numerous point-blank shots.
But on Saturday, the ’Bows made a point to go inside for points. Center Tanner Christensen, who was 2-for-4 in Thursday’s loss to UC Riverside, was hitting 31.8% of his shots in the past three games. But Christensen scored nine first-half points on 3-for-3 shooting. On a pick-and-rollout, Christensen found himself open at the top of the key. He swished the 3. Christensen finished with 16 points on 5-for-7 shooting and nine rebounds.
“I wanted to get a win for senior night,” said Christensen, one of five UH seniors playing their last home game. “I worked hard to get some good shots and get everybody going.”
The ’Bows also controlled the boards 39-29.
UCD post Niko Rocak, who entered as the league’s leader in blocks (2.1 per game) and fourth in rebounds (7.3), was limited to three boards, including one in the second half. He also picked up his third foul with 3:57 remaining in the half.
“It was being aggressive, trying to draw fouls,” Christensen said of going against Rocak. “Obviously some of my teammates had fouls on him, too. It was good.”
UCD guard TY Johnson, who entered averaging 21.5 points per game, led with 26 points. But when the Aggies were making a final push in the final two minutes, Johnson failed to connect on five consecutive shots.
After Johnson hit a 3 to cut the deficit to 66-59 with 4:46 to play, the Aggies missed the next eight shots. Johnson ended the drought with a jumper with 46 seconds to go to close the Aggies to 72-62.
In a frenetic comeback attempt, the Aggies repeatedly fouled the ’Bows. UH missed four of five free throws, including the front end of a one-and-one.
With UH leading 73-68 with 22.5 seconds left, Akira Jacobs entered the lineup. Jacobs was fouled while trying to break free on an inbound pass. He then buried consecutive free throws to all but seal the outcome.
“Nothing really,” Jacobs said of his thoughts at the line. “It’s part of the game. I was trying to keep the same mentality as if were the middle of the game. In my mind, I try to stay pretty neutral. I shoot them the way I usually shoot them.”
UCD coach Jim Les said: “I thought Hawaii played really well. They shot the ball well — 49% from 2, 39% from 3 And they out-free-throw’d us (23 to 19), and that’s tough to come back when you give up those numbers. I wasn’t happy with our defense. But credit them with their execution offensively.”
