by HONOLULU – The University of Hawai’i men’s basketball pulled off a dramatic 65-62 come-from-behind win over UC Santa Barbara Saturday night before a raucous crowd at the SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. The Rainbow Warriors (11-5) recovered from a 19-point deficit to win their seventh straight game and remain undefeated in the Big West.
At 6-0, UH is off to its best-ever start in the Big West. The win, coupled with Cal State Fullerton’s loss earlier in the day, also catapulted the ‘Bows into sole possession of first-place in the conference.
Junior Madut led UH with 16 points, nine rebounds and three assists. Meanwhile, Kamaka Hepa (Inupiaq/Hawaiian) played a key role in UH’s comeback, draining four three-pointers and scoring all 13 of his points after the break.
Things didn’t look good for UH early. The Rainbow Warriors got off to a nightmare start as the Gauchos scored 19 of the game’s first 21 points. After hitting 11 of its first 15 shots, UCSB built a 23-4 lead over a shell-shocked UH squad that converted just three of its first 17 shots.
UH trailed 30-19 going into the locker room but flipped the script on the Gauchos in the second half. After shooting just 26 percent in the first half, UH was a blazing 60 percent in the second half and went 7-of-10 from behind the arc. Hepa’s three-pointer at the 8:25 mark gave UH its first lead of the game – a lead they would not relinquish.
The comeback was also fueled by a relentless defense that held UCSB to just 33 percent shooting in the second half. All-conference post player Amadou Sow finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds but was held to just 5-of-19 shooting from the floor. In the end, UH ended a three-game series skid against the Gauchos (8-8, 1-3 Big West) and picked up just its second win against UCSB in the last eight matchups.
