An extremely efficient performance carried the Hawaii men’s basketball team to a 95-86 win at Cal State Fullerton and a sweep of its two-game road trip on Saturday.
UH (11-5, 3-2 Big West) was an absurd 22-for-25 from 2-point range (88%) for the game at Titan Gym in Orange County, Calif. It converted a season-high 61.4% of its attempts from the field overall, and 36 of 38 attempts (94.7%) from the line — including 26-for-27 in the second half.
It added up to its most points against a Division I opponent this season, and was the most for the Rainbow Warriors in a Big West road game. It was the program's most in a true road game since a 103-100 double-overtime loss to host Fresno State in the 2000 WAC tournament in Fresno.
"You coach long enough or play long enough and you think you’ve seen it all, but that was an interesting game for sure," UH coach Eran Ganot told Spectrum News in a postgame phone interview.
Combined with Thursday’s seven-point win at UC Riverside, it was the first two-game Big West road sweep for Ganot's program since February of the 2022-23 season.
"They had a great attitude. It’s been different guys on different nights and we still got a ways to go," Ganot said of the team's third straight Big West win after an 0-2 league start. "The maturity and cohesiveness of this team is really impressive.
Forward Gytis Nemeiksa made 10 of 11 from the stripe on his way to 20 points and eight rebounds in the afternoon game. Center Tanner Christensen put in six of seven shots from the floor and seven of eight from the line for 19 points and seven boards.
Guard Tom Beattie added 14 points and a team-high four assists while Akira Jacobs supplied 14 points off the bench.
Ganot said the extreme shooting on the interior started by working through Christensen and Nemeiksa, with UH's guards piling on. Some came on the fast break and some on offensive boards from missed 3s.
"It was a little of everything, kind of across the board," Ganot said. "That’s something (2-point efficiency) we take pride in. … Credit our guys for converting."
The Rainbow Warriors, while not efficient from beyond the arc, led by four at halftime, then made two-thirds of their shots in a 55-point second half.
They were plus-12 on the glass.
The only thing that kept the game close was UH’s plus-11 turnover margin, resulting in a 26-9 CSUF advantage in points off giveaways. There were still concerns on that front and in the way UH defended, but the coach was pleased with the way his team closed it out.
"Late in games when you have the lead you have to take care of it and make your free throws, and we did both," Ganot said, noting UH converted its last 21 free throws over the last 13-plus minutes of the game.
CSUF (5-13, 0-6) remained winless in conference play. Donovan Oday led the Titans with 29 points on 10-for-18 shooting.
The Titans stayed within a possession for the last time on Oday’s layup with 8:22 to play.
It was UH’s third win against Dedrique Taylor’s Fullerton team in the last four meetings at CSUF.
UH returns home to face Cal State Northridge on Thursday and Cal State Bakersfield on Saturday.
Ganot said it was a strange experience being in the greater Los Angeles area during the rampant wildfires. He had to check on his sister, who lives in Calabasas, prior to the Riverside game Thursday.
"It was surreal, tough," Ganot said. "Your thoughts and prayers are with everybody impacted, directly or indirectly."
Note: This story was updated with details and quotes.
Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.