JoVon McClanahan hit the clinching free throws with 9.7 seconds left as the Hawaii men’s basketball team held off UC Riverside for a 67-63 road victory in one of the Rainbow Warriors’ most difficult stretches of the season.

UH recovered from Thursday’s eight-point loss at UC Irvine and knocked the surprise Big West leader off its perch Saturday behind 19 points from McClanahan and 18 from center Bernardo da Silva, who scored 14 in the second half.

It was a crucial win at SRC Arena as the ‘Bows (15-5, 6-2 Big West), playing their fourth game in eight days, remained among the conference contenders nearing the midpoint of conference play. A new first-place team, UC Santa Barbara, will visit Manoa on Thursday.

"I expected us to respond," UH coach Eran Ganot told Spectrum News in a postgame phone interview. "We just lost a tough game to a good team on their home court and you turn around and play the No. 1 team in a tough game on their home court. The opportunity was there for us to grow as a team and I think the guys came in with a great mindset."

Riverside (14-7, 7-2), off to its best 20-game start and best eight-game Big West performance in its Division I era, nearly added UH to its list of comeback victims this season, chipping an 11-point deficit to two late.

"Good thing we gave ourselves enough of a lead that we were going to withstand a push that they were going to give," McClanahan said. "All good teams ride it out to the end, which they did, but we did a good job of locking down and coming up with loose balls at the end just to make free throws."

UH guard Noel Coleman supplied 10 points, wing Samuta Avea had eight points and nine rebounds, and Beon Riley scored eight off the bench for the ‘Bows, helping make up for a quiet two-point day from Kamaka Hepa.

McClanahan was 9-for-10 from the line.

"He's such a clutch player. He's been that way," Ganot said.

Said McClanahan, "As a point guard, that's my job to step up and make free throws. That's my job. Bernardo hit some big free throws as well."

Unlike the Irvine loss, UH was effective out of the gate and led throughout the first half. It held a four-point halftime lead, promptly lost it to begin the second half, then recaptured it and led the rest of the way.

On a key sequence, da Silva hit a runner, plus the foul. He missed the free throw but UH got two straight offensive boards and Avea found da Silva for a dunk and a seven-point lead with 14:22 left.

UH extended the lead to 11 before a series of whistles helped the Highlanders narrow it to five.

Riley, who’s emerged as UH’s top reserve, hit a 3 and stuck a putback to push the lead back to 56-46 with under 10 minutes to play. He scored in transition on a pass from McClanahan for seven straight points for his team. Ganot credited him and Kody Williams, Mor Seck and Zoar Nedd for their spot minutes off the bench.

Riverside’s best player, Zyon Pullin scored three straight baskets to cut it to six with five minutes left.

Pullin finished with 14 on 6-for-20 shooting. Forward Lachlan Olbrich scored a career-high 21 and grabbed 10 boars and wing Flynn Cameron had 13 points and 14 boards as Riverside was plus-13 on the glass and won second-chance points 21-7.

UCR continued to rally with an 11-1 run – they capitalized with three points a lapse in which UH didn't realize a free-throw miss came on the front end of a 1-and-1 – and Hepa was called for goaltending after a UH turnover and layup by Olbrich with 3:19 left.

Da Silva earned free-throw trips on UH’s next two possessions but went 1-for-4, but made up for it by taking a charge on Olbrich with two minutes left.

"Not as many lapses as the Irvine game, and we defended as well as we have all year," Ganot said. "We were fortunate to make some bigger plays late."

Olbrich scored inside to make it 65-63 with 1:30 left.

McClanahan missed a tough jumper and Olbrich traveled after faking a top-arc 3 with 54.7 seconds to go.

Coleman missed a driving layup coming out of a timeout.

Jamal Hartwell II missed a 3, Cameron snatched it and missed a contested layup. UH grabbed it and McClanahan was pushed out of bounds with 9.7 seconds left.

The point guard connected on both to make it a two-possession game and Hartwell missed a jump shot at the horn.

Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.