Reserve power was not enough as the University of Hawaii men’s basketball team suffered a 64-59 road loss to UC Riverside at SRC Arena.

A Thursday night crowd of 1,117 saw the Rainbow Warriors’ seven-game winning streak come to a halt. The ’Bows dropped to 6-1 in the Big West, and share the top spot with Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State.

“We played well enough to win on the road against a team that is pretty good and having another good year,” UH coach Eran Ganot said. “We had key lapses in key stretches. You’re not going to get over the hump anywhere — let alone on the road, let alone against a good team — especially later in the year, if you do that. We’ll learn from it, and I expect our team to bounce back.”

UH’s reserves outscored UCR’s backups 19-2. But the Highlanders, led by 7-foot-1, 295-pound Callum McRae, constructed a 44-22 advantage in paint points. McRae and Zyon Pullin each scored 19 points for the Highlanders.

The ’Bows started off strong, building an 11-point lead with 11:38 in the first half. But UH’s self-inflicted mistakes and McRae’s close-range shooting helped the Highlanders cut their deficit to 32-30 at the intermission.

The teams traded cold scoring stretches and leads in the second half. The Highlanders’ 6-0 lead gave them a 55-52 lead with 3:50 to play. They would not trail again, although the ’Bows made several pushes.

UH forward Jerome Desrosiers drove for an uncontested dunk to make it 60-59 with 35 seconds to play. UH guard Noel Coleman fouled Dominick Pickett with 18.7 seconds to play.

“It was a three-second differential (between the game and shot clocks) in a one-point game,” Ganot said. “We didn’t want to take that long to foul.”

Pickett made both free throws to increase UCR’s lead to 62-59. JoVon McClanahan then got the ball on left wing, but his 3-point attempt was not true with 6.5 seconds to play.

UCR rebounded, and Quinton Ford was fouled. His two free throws were the only points for the UCR reserves.

Ganot said two 50-50 balls — a rebound and loose ball — that the Highlanders chased down affected the second half’s tone. One led to a timeout and change of possession; the other resulted in two UCR free throws.

“Sometimes that can be the difference, especially in league play and especially in close games,” Ganot said.

McRae also factored on both ends of the court. The Highlanders tried to force the ’Bows’ offensive sets to one side of the court, harassing the perimeter shooters and inducing drives toward McRae in the low post. When the Highlanders had the ball, UH had single coverage on McRae to make sure an outside shooter was not left alone.

“They surround him with shooting,” Ganot said.

McRae was able to use quick-step moves to maneuver for scoops, baby hooks and left-handed layups.

“Give him credit,” Ganot said. “We did not do a good job on him.”

Kamaka Hepa scored 12 points — on 4-for-6 shooting on 3-pointers — to lead the ’Bows.

UH travels to Northern California today in advance of Saturday’s road game against UC Davis.