by NORTHRIDGE, Calif. – The University of Hawai’i men’s basketball team closed out its regular-season strong with a 84-62 road win over CSUN Saturday night at the Matadome. With the win Rainbow Warriors (16-10) finished in sole possession of third place in the Big West with a 10-5 mark.
UH, which led by five at halftime broke the game open in the second half with a decisive 24-3 run. Junior Madut helped spark that run and led four ‘Bows in double-digit scoring with 18 points. Kamaka Hepa (Inupiaq/Hawaiian) finished with 15 points, while Bernardo da Silva added 11.Two nights after getting a season-low two points from it bench, UH got 29 points from its subs, led by Amoro Lado’s 11 points.
Atin Wright scored a game-high 28 points for the Matadors (7-21, 3-13) who lost their sixth straight contest while playing without the services of interim head coach Trent Johnson.
The ‘Bows held a 38-33 lead at the half after shooting 46 percent, turning the ball over just three times and getting a strong performance from its reserves. UH got 18 first-half points from its subs, led by Lado’s nine points.
CSUN, though, continued to hang tough in the second half and trailed just 48-47 at the 14 minute-mark. But after that it was all Rainbow Warriors as UH reeled off 24 of the game’s next 27 points, including a string of eight straight points by Madut. Madut’s back-to-back threes gave UH its first double-digit lead of the game and UH would continue to roll from there.
UH out-rebounded CSUN 35-30, buried 27 free throws and committed just seven turnovers on the evening. It was also a milestone night for head coach Eran Ganot who picked up win 113 at UH as he surpassed Red Rocha for second all-time on the school’s wins list.
