Box Score

HONOLULU - The Hawai'i men's basketball team scored 24 unanswered points in the first half and cruised to a 72-52 victory over San Jose State, Thursday night, in a Western Athletic Conference match-up at the Stan Sheriff Center. The Rainbow Warriors (11-9, 2-5 WAC) snapped a three-game losing streak extended their win streak over the Spartans to eight games.

The 'Bows used a balanced attack and dominating rebound advantage in the first half to take a 40-15 halftime lead. UH led 8-6 at the 15:44 mark and from there things got ugly for the Spartans. Over the next 13 plus minutes, the 'Bows outscored SJSU 30-2, including a nine minute stretch in which the Spartans missed 17 straight attempts. UH scored 24 unanswered during that spurt to go ahead 38-8.

Matt Lojeski led UH with 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Five other 'Bows scored nine or more points including Matt Gibson, who added 12 points and nine rebounds. P.J. Owsley and Bobby Nash each chipped in with 10 points.

UH out-rebounded the Spartans, 53-to-34 with the help of Ahmet Gueye and Stephen Verwers, who each grabbed 13 boards. Gueye missed out on his sixth double-double of the season with nine points while Verwers had six points.

The Spartans shot just 19 percent in the first half and a season-low 26.6 percent for the game. UH shot 46.9 percent, including a blistering 53.1 percent in the first half. By the half, Verwers grabbed 11 rebounds, nearly as much as the entire SJSU team, which had 13.

Carlton Spencer and Menelik Barbary were the only bright spots for the Spartans (2-17, 1-6 WAC), who dropped their 20th straight road game. Spencer scored a team-high 15 points before fouling out late in the game, while Barbary had 15 points and nine rebounds.

UH led by as much as 33 in the second half until a 20-2 SJSU run cut the lead to 15.

The 'Bows next host Utah State, Monday, January 29. Tip-off is 7:05 p.m. at the Stan Sheriff Center.

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