Forget about Pitt on Maui. Never mind Colorado in the Diamond Head Classic.

Or any of the other 11 victories this season.

That win Thursday against unheralded UC Davis was the biggest of 2014-15 for the University of Hawaii basketball team.

And coach Benjy Taylor, after pausing a couple of seconds when asked, agreed.

UH looked vulnerable going in, taking on the Big West’s top team, coming off a loss at UC Riverside.

But the bounce-back ‘Bows did it again. They simply don’t know how to lose two games in a row.

"I think it’s pride. We take it as a challenge," said Aaron Valdes, who came back from his worst game of the season to something close to the form we saw him at when Hawaii crushed Cal State Northridge 12 days ago.

As Taylor pointed out, UH was at full-strength for the first time since conference play started. In case anyone still wasn’t convinced, senior guard Garrett Nevels’ steadying influence on both offense and defense is irreplaceable.

UC Davis’ Corey Hawkins had turned the Sheriff Center into his personal playground the previous two seasons, but the Rainbows locked him down after three early bombs.

Hawaii’s 18 steals were not only the difference in the game, but astounding considering the Aggies are not a poor ball-handling team.

But UH made them one last night — which surprised Taylor, because of UC Davis’ experience.

"I told them no way we turn ‘em over, just gotta disrupt them. But every game I say that, we do it."

Hawaii, especially with the return of Nevels, played a more disciplined game Thursday. And Negus Webster-Chan, who has been disappointing, showed signs of life and contributed a key sequence of free throws and a 3-pointer to get UH’s mammoth late-first half run going.

UH’s transition game, often willy-nilly, chaotic and inefficient in earlier games, was significantly more efficient and productive Thursday.

Taylor said the half-court offense was the best its been all season.

The only downer about the whole thing was the way it ended, and it’s fortunate for them the Rainbows had enough of a cushion to withstand technical fouls — one on Valdes and one against the team for fans throwing junk onto the court.

In general, though, this young UH team showed a lot of signs of growing up in this one.

They still need to get better on the boards, and they still haven’t completely mastered the art of consistently turning passion into positive results.

But on this night, the only thing that could’ve stopped the Rainbow Warriors from attaining their biggest win of the season was an idiot or two in the stands. Good thing there was only 2.4 seconds left on the clock when Tyler Les got to shoot all those free throws.

And Hawaii is now 6-0 after losses. It’s a record UH hopes it won’t have an opportunity to improve upon.

Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783. His blog is at hawaiiwarriorworld.com/quick-reads.