by SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – The University of Hawai’i men’s basketball team got back on the winning track with a 69-56 road win at Cal Poly Saturday night at the Mott Athletics Center. Kamaka Hepa exploded for 29 points to help UH earn a road split and stay in the thick of the Big West race.
On an evening in which the top three Big West teams fell, the Rainbow Warriors (17-7, 8-4 Big West) moved into a tie for third-place in the league standings while moving just 1.5 games off the pace. Meanwhile, the Mustangs (7-17, 1-11) continued their spiral with their 11th straight loss.
Hepa finished just one point shy of his career-high scoring game, going 7-of-11 from the floor, 4-of-6 on three-pointers and 11-of-12 from the free throw line. He also added a team-high six rebounds. Samuta Avea also got into the act with 18 points, while JoVon McClanahan added nine points and a season-high six assists.
Two nights after a tough double-digit loss at UC Davis, UH bounced back in a big way, shaking off a slow start to roll to a convincing road win. The Rainbow Warriors gained a season sweep of Cal Poly for the third straight year with their sixth straight win over the Mustangs.
UH started the game missing eight of its first nine shots. But the ‘Bows caught fire the rest of the half, making 11 of its next 15, including 5-of-10 from behind the arc. Three of those long balls came from Hepa who poured in 14 first-half points and helped fuel a 15-5 run that gave UH a 36-25 lead at the break.
UH remained in firm control of the game throughout the second half. The Mustangs cut the deficit to nine at the midway points but Avea scored five straight for the ‘Bows as UH regained a double-digit lead it would maintain the rest of the way.
UH drained 8-of-19 from three-point land and was near perfect from the free throw line where they drained 23 of 24 attempts. The ‘Bows also out-rebounded the Mustangs, 36-26.
