Long Beach State spoils Senior Night in Hawaii behind Sykes’ 34

HONOLULU – Stakes through the Hawai’i heart.

With an opportunity to claim a share of the Big West’s regular season crown, the University of Hawai’i men’s basketball team faltered in their final home game of the year as Gavin Sykes exploded for a second straight 30-point outing to help Long Beach State ruin the fun on Senior Night in the islands, 84-75.

The freshman guard had a game-best 34 points for the visitors, who shot a sizzling 55% from the field as a team while draining 9-of-18 from long distance. Sykes shot 10-for-17 himself overall while draining 5-of-8 from 3-point range, including three straight triples in the final few minutes to put the game out of reach for the Rainbow Warriors.

“I want to give Long Beach credit,” Hawai’i head coach Eran Ganot said after the game. “We didn’t deserve to win. They outplayed us, they outcompeted us.”

With no postseason to play for, LBSU came out with their own championship mentality as they took a 22-19 lead over the Rainbow Warriors more than midway through the opening half. Hawai’i struggled shooting throughout the first half, making just 1-of-10 from long distance to start before Hunter Erickson tied it at 22 with his second triple of the evening.

Erickson and Ike Finlinson each drained another 3-pointer to keep UH afloat as the first half wound down, but Long Beach State connected on eight of their final nine shots of the stanza to take a 44-34 advantage into the locker rooms.

Isaac “Big Fish” Johnson looked to spark the hosts as the second half began as he dove to the floor for an extra possession, leading to a layup for Finlinson and igniting an 11-3 run that cut the deficit to two for Hawai’i with 13 minutes left in regulation.

After a timeout by Long Beach and the under-12-minute media stoppage, the Rainbow Warriors flashed full court pressure and forced back-to-back steals to push ahead for the first time since the 10:25 mark of the first half as Dre Bullock and Harry Rouhliadeff cashed in four straight free throws.

With the crowd back engaged and chomping at the bit to celebrate Senior Night in style, Harry Rouhliadeff and Isaac Johnson provided a pair of ear-popping moments with an and-one finish and putback dunk for Hawai’i before each picked up their fourth personal fouls with over seven minutes left in regulation.

With two of UH’s senior forwards glued to the bench, Long Beach State took quick advantage to pull back in front with an 8-0 run. Johnson returned and sunk a pair of free throws to make it a 66-62 deficit for the Rainbow Warriors with 4:32 to play, but the hosts could not pull any closer as Gavin Sykes went nuclear to put the dagger in the hearts of Hawai’i and their fans with 14 points over the final three and a half minutes to clinch the 84-75 upset.

Senior guard Hunter Erickson finished with a career-high 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting in the loss for the Rainbow Warriors, making four 3-pointers in a game for just the second time this season. Isaac Johnson had 16 points, eight rebounds and three steals in 26 minutes of work as he navigated foul woes in the second half.

Ike Finlinson and Dre Bullock also finished in double figures for the hosts, scoring 15 and 14 points respectively. Bullock looked to experience some discomfort late in the game and exited briefly before returning to finish the contest for the Rainbow Warriors.

Following the game, Hawai’i turned attention quickly to celebrate six seniors who helped the program to one of the best year-over-year turnarounds in recent Big West memory in Erickson, Johnson, Bullock, Yacine Toumi, Gytis Nemeikša and captain Harry Rouhliadeff.

“I spoke to the team in the end to let it go right now because your senior night here is as good as it gets,” a weary Eran Ganot said after the game. “I begged [the team], do me a favor [and] let me take this one on. You go enjoy your senior night, nobody does it better.”

Hawaii G Hunter Erickson bends down to get another lei on Senior Night. | Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

Ganot was appreciative of the fans staying to celebrate a senior group that he said was “right up there” with some of the good ones that he’s been able to work with.

Each receiving loud ovations, all six seniors were able to crack smiles as they went through the Senior Night processions in the islands. Rouhliadeff and Johnson were visibly emotional as they were introduced one final time to the Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center crowd.

“It was just awesome,” Johnson said when asked about his emotions during the ceremony. “When you’re in a game, you’re so locked in on what’s going on in the game. I like to get hyped with the crowd and everything like that and look out, but it’s all a blur. To be able to take it in and just realize and be able to see how many people were here supporting us and loving us … to see them reciprocate that love … I feel like you’re not a true man if you can’t show a little emotion and I couldn’t hold it back.”

Rouhliadeff, who was the lone senior to spend all four of his college seasons in Mānoa, was equally expressive in his gratitude for what the University of Hawai’i and the state overall has given him.

“I’ve had the most incredible four years of my life here,” Rouhliadeff emphasized. “I would not change a thing, and these are the best fans in the world. There’s no doubt about that. They know how to cheer for us and it’s such a joy, such a privilege to play in front of these fans every single week.”

Hawaii F Harry Rouhliadeff daps up teammates during Senior Night ceremonies. | Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

Hawai’i (22-8, 14-6 Big West) was locked into the No. 2 seed for the 2026 Credit Union 1 Big West Men’s Basketball Championship tournament regardless of Saturday night’s result due to conference tiebreakers and will receive a double-bye and a spot directly into the Big West semifinal round.

No. 6-seeded UC Davis (18-13, 11-9 Big West) will take on No. 7-seeded UC Santa Barbara (18-13, 11-9 Big West) on Wednesday in the first round of the conference tournament. The winner will advance to face third-seeded Cal State Fullerton (17-15, 12-18 Big West) in the quarterfinal round.

No. 2-seeded Hawai’i awaits the winner of the Cal State Fullerton-UCD/UCSB matchup on Friday in the Big West semifinals. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. HT / 8:30 p.m. PT.

“We’ll always keep confidence high in our team,” Rouhliadeff reaffirmed about the Rainbow Warriors heading into the postseason. “We’re going to go in on Friday on a mission because we obviously didn’t want to finish our regular season off like this, so we’re going to come out firing … I have all the faith in the world in our guys.”