by DAVIS, Calif. – The University of Hawai’i men’s basketball team suffered its second straight road setback with a 68-65 loss at UC Davis Saturday at the University Credit Union Center. The Rainbow Warriors dropped to 11-7 and 6-2 in the Big West.
For the second straight game, UH’s fate came down to the final seconds. But the ‘Bows missed two three-pointers in the final seven seconds to cement a comeback from the Aggies (10-7, 3-3) who rallied from 14 points in the second half. With the loss UH slipped to third place in the Big West standings.
Four players finished in double figures for the Rainbow Warriors who were led by Kamaka Hepa with 16 points and nine rebounds. Bernardo da Silva and Jerome Desrosiers each finished with 12 points, while Noel Coleman added 11.
Ezra Manjon powered the Aggies with 20 points. Elijah Pepper, who helped spark UCD’s second-half comeback, finished with 19 points and Christian Anigwe added 16 points.
After the team played to a 29-29 deadlock in the first half, the ‘Bows came out of the gates strong in the second half. UH went on a 13-2 run to start the second half to build a double-digit lead. The ‘Bows extended their lead to as many as 14 points, 50-36, with 11:30 left on a pair of Amoro Lado free throws.
But the Aggies didn’t fold and exploded on a 20-3 run to take a 56-53 lead with 5:23 left. That set the stage for another tense finish for the ‘Bows. UC Davis took the lead for good with just under two minutes left, though UH had to chances to extend the game. But Coleman’s three-point attempt with seven seconds left was rejected and Junior Madut’s three-pointer at the buzzer just fell short.
UH out-rebounded the Aggies and out-scored the UCD bench 11-0 in a game that featured seven ties and 16 lead changes. But UH was ultimately stung by the turnover bug. The ‘Bows committed just three in the first half, but had 10 after the break to open the door for the Aggie comeback.
