Hawai’i slows down speedy Cal Poly for first Big West win

HONOLULU – First Big West battle to go to the ‘Bows. 

The University of Hawai’i men’s basketball team slowed down the nation’s fastest-paced program in Cal Poly on Saturday night, dispatching the Mustangs 68-55 for the first conference win in three tries. Gytis Nemeikša paced the Rainbow Warriors, scoring 19 points to go along with nine rebounds as he finished as UH’s game-high scorer for the fifth time this year. 

Tom Beattie finished in double figures for the first time since the Weber State game (Nov. 17) as he poured in 15 points in 28 minutes off the bench while Tanner Christensen posted his third double-double of the season and second in Big West play with 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Rainbow Warriors. Saturday was the sixth time in the last seven games that Hawai’i has had at least three players finish with 10+ points. 

With senior standout Marcus Greene dealing with foul troubles from start to finish, guard Aaron Hunkin-Claytor played over 20 minutes for the second time in his college career as the 6-foot-2 freshman hit his first career three-pointer while grabbing four rebounds and handing out three assists. The ball moved into quality scoring opportunities all night as UH tallied 17 assists on 23 made baskets. 

Cal Poly (6-10, 0-4 Big West) entered the weekend with KenPom’s top Adjusted Tempo in all of Division I men’s college basketball, averaging nearly 77 possessions per 40 minutes. An area of focus for the UH defense, the Mustangs posted the team’s second-lowest fast break scoring output of the year with five points in transition (Season-low four fast break points in 91-73 loss at California on November 7). 

The Rainbow Warriors (9-5, 1-2 Big West) jumped out to an early 8-1 lead as Nemeikša continued his sweet shooting from long range and Akira Jacobs connected from the left corner. The Mustangs responded with a pair of triples of their own, seeing Issac Jessup coax a second three-pointer in with a friendly bounce to cut the Hawai’i lead to one with 11:37 left to play in the first half. 

Beattie burst out of his month-long scoring slump after the media timeout, punctuating a mini run of his own with a one-handed dunk off a nice find from Harry Rouhliadeff that restored the Rainbow Warriors’ seven-point lead with two and a half minutes left before halftime. One final Beattie bucket erased Owen Koonce’s makes from the foul line before Cal Poly’s Peter Bandelj got a layup to drop just before the break to make it a five-point difference at halftime, 27-22. 

Hawai’i attacked the rim with an increased focus to open the second half, scoring 15 of the first 17 points behind another Nemeikša scoring avalanche and a Christensen dunk to go up 42-24 after four and a half minutes of action. The Mustangs fought back, cutting the UH lead down to 11 after Koonce drilled a three with 10:58 left to play but lost momentum after the media timeout as Akira Jacobs muscled in a layup through contact and added a free throw for good measure right after play resumed. 

The Rainbow Warrior run rolled on with Aaron Hunkin-Claytor’s first career three-point make before Hawai’i took a game-high 20-point lead on a short jumper by Jacobs with about six minutes left to play. A pair of makes from the foul line by Nemeikša with 2:34 left made it 68-49, closing the scoring for Hawai’i before Cal Poly scored six points to close the margin slightly before the final horn. 

Owen Koonce was the lone Mustang in double figures, scoring 15 points (5-11 FG, 2-2 3PT) and snagging five rebounds in the loss. Sharpshooter Issac Jessup was held to just eight points, hitting on 2-of-10 attempts from three-point range off the bench as Cal Poly was held to just 62 total possessions. 

Hawai’i will travel to the continent next week for a two-game road trip, taking on UC Riverside on Thursday before facing off against Cal State Fullerton on Saturday. The Rainbow Warriors dropped both away games they have played this season, including the Big West opener at Long Beach State in December.