Hawaii basketball loses on senior night
JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM
Hawaii guard Leland Green got past UC Irvine forward Elston Jones, left, and guard Riley Welch during the first half.
Evan Leonard scored 10 of his game-high 19 points in the first half as UC Irvine took an early lead and went on to beat host Hawaii 66-57 in a Big West conference men’s basketball game Saturday.
A senior night crowd of 5,747 at the Stan Sheriff Center celebrated the careers of Mike Thomas, Gibson Johnson and Zach Buscher after the game, but had little to cheer about during it as Hawaii shot 34.6 percent from the floor and was outrebounded 40-36.
With their three-game winning streak snapped, the Rainbow Warriors (16-11 overall, 7-7 Big West) finished with an overall home record of 13-7. They complete the regular season with games at UC Davis and Cal State Fullerton next Thursday and Saturday. UH then goes to Anaheim, Calif., for the Big West tournament the following week.
The conference-leading Anteaters (16-15, 11-4) got a game closer to their fourth Big West regular-season title (outright or shared) in the past five years.
Hawaii matched its season low in first-half points and trailed 33-24 at intermission. UH made just 31 percent of its shots from the floor and 50 percent of its free throws and was outrebounded 21-16 before the break.
Led by five points from Drew Buggs, the Rainbows scored 12 of the first 15 points of the second half, closing to 38-36 on Sheriff Drammeh’s basket in the lane.
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But the Anteaters never lost the lead and regained control, responding with John Edgar’s 3-pointer that spurred an 11-2 run.
Buggs led Hawaii with 11 points and Drammeh had 10.
Thomas, UH’s leading scorer and rebounder who missed the previous two games due to injury, scored six points and had seven rebounds in his final home game before fouling out with 1:26 left.
Johnson, a junior college transfer who played two seasons at Hawaii, scored seven points with two rebounds.
Buscher, a walk-on listed as a junior who is not returning to the team next season, drew big cheers when he checked into the game with 1:26 left. He made two free throws with 17 seconds left, and made two more when he was fouled again with 13 seconds left.
Buscher’s four points helped UH avoid its season low for points in a game. That came in a 67-54 loss to visiting Nevada on Nov. 24.
