HONOLULU – Triton or traitor?

The University of Hawai’i men’s basketball team sent the second-largest home crowd of the season back to their cars happy on Saturday night, holding off old friend Tom Beattie and UC San Diego (16-9, 6-7 Big West) inside Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center, 72-67. Senior Isaac Johnson led the way for the Rainbow Warriors with 20 points and nine rebounds, getting the hosts off to a much-needed hot start against the Tritons.

“We talked about it a lot leading up to the game, we had to throw the first punch,” said Johnson about UH’s mindset entering the night. “Almost got to it literally throwing a first punch, but basketball-wise, we came out with a hot start and then it seemed like we took our foot off the gas a little bit.”

The 7-footer came out guns blazing to begin, scoring nine of the first 11 points as Hawai’i raced out to an 11-0 lead less than three minutes into the action. His aggressiveness continued as other Rainbow Warriors struggled to get it going from the floor, helping keep the hosts ahead by nine nearly midway through the opening half.

“That was crucial, necessary for us to kind of send a message early,” Johnson continued. “It set a tone for the rest of the game, and we were ready to battle.”

Hawaii C Isaac Johnson gives an extra stare after a putback dunk in the first half against UC San Diego. | Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

The battle spilled over into being of special interest to the 4,842 fans in attendance with 8:50 left before halftime as Gytis Nemeikša and UCSD junior guard Tom Beattie got tangled up and shared a few words back and forth, causing Beattie to clap and smile at Nemeikša before being greeted by vociferous boos by the Hawai’i fanbase.

“After that moment with Tom Beattie, I got heated,” Nemeikša said unprompted about the moment with his former teammate. “I just really wanted to win this game. That’s all.”

The game took on a different tone after the Nemo-Beattie moment as the crowd took it upon themselves to defend Nemeikša while taking their opportunity to voice their displeasure with the in-conference defector, booing Beattie every time he touched the ball for the rest of the night.

“I was really happy when the crowd started booing him when he had the ball,” Nemeikša grinned when asked about the fan reaction for the rest of the night. “Thank you for the crowd.”

With fans engaged and both teams battling, Hawai’i clung to a two-point advantage going into the locker room despite shooting just 2-for-13 from distance.

Beattie helped swing the score in the Tritons’ favor when play resumed, draining a three from the left side after starting the second half with a twisting layup through defenders, holding a finger up to his lips to shush the booing crowd as the visitors ticked ahead, 37-36.

The UCSD lead grew as large as five with 13:34 to play as the Rainbow Warriors dragged through a three-minute scoring drought before Nemeikša and junior forward Ike Finlinson had a pair of and-one finishes for the hosts to pull within a pair.

The tough finishes got the hosts going as Finlinson followed it up by connecting from the left corner for his lone triple of the night, putting Hawai’i back ahead with 10:05 left to play, 50-49.

The UH defense locked in to allow just one made field goal over the next seven and a half minutes, allowing the Rainbow Warriors to extend the advantage back to 10 behind a pair of big threes from Harry Rouhliadeff and Hunter Erickson as the clock ticked under three minutes remaining in regulation.

“We had some [bad shots], and we had some forcing the issue against their defense,” head coach Eran Ganot said of the offensive woes to begin the second half. “At the forefront, we have to play with confidence, some swag, belief. So, Ike started that, he hits the three in the corner … a paint touch and Harry hits a big one. Obviously, we got a late clock three from Hunter Erickson. We’re going to keep talking about [taking good shots], stop forcing things, but do not pass up the good ones, ever.”

Despite the comfortable lead for UH, the Tritons refused to relent after getting a little extra life from a technical foul on Isaac Johnson right after the Erickson 3-pointer. A few bad fouls and tough made shots by UCSD later and the 10-point Hawai’i lead had been cut to two with 14 seconds left to play.

After Hunter Erickson split a pair a free throw to give a 70-67 advantage, the Rainbow Warrior defense stood tall to force a miss by Aidan Burke from the left corner and Dre Bullock secured the rebound and knocked down the final two free throws to help the hosts survive late.

Beattie finished with a team-high 14 points for UC San Diego in his return to his old stomping grounds, adding three assists and a trio of steals to his ledger. Hudson Mayes chipped in a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds in 34 minutes for the Tritons, who had four players finish in double digits in the loss.

 Ike Finlinson scored 12 of his 15 points for UH after halftime, adding four rebounds and a pair of assists in the win. Gytis Nemeikša added 11 points and five rebounds off the bench while Dre Bullock finished with 10 points and seven boards as the Rainbow Warriors dominated the battle on the glass, 47-26.

Erickson did a little bit of everything despite not having his best offensive performance, scoring nine points on 2-of-7 shooting to go along with 10 rebounds, six assists and a pair of steals.

The victory helped knot the Rainbow Warriors back at the top of the Big West standings after UC Irvine fell at UC Santa Barbara earlier on Saturday. Hawai’i (17-5, 9-3 Big West) will try to keep pace atop the conference ranks as they head back out on the road next week, traveling to CSU Bakersfield on Thursday before visiting CSUN on Saturday.

Hawai’i also announced on Saturday that sophomore starting point guard Aaron Hunkin-Claytor is expected to miss the rest of the season after suffering a severe turf toe injury in practice. Already without the services of Tanner Cuff (knee) for the year, the Rainbow Warriors are down to 10 total bodies on the active roster with eight games left in the regular season.