Box Score

HONOLULU – The University of Hawai`i Rainbow Warrior basketball team closed its season-opening five-game homestand with an 83-71 loss to New Mexico Friday night at the Stan Sheriff Center. The Rainbow Warriors dropped to 2-3 overall with their third straight loss.

 

For the third straight game, UH fell victim to a second-half slump. New Mexico (6-0) went on a 19-1 run—including a string of 14 unanswered points—to start the second half and turn a one-point UH lead to a commanding 17-point Lobo cushion. The Lobos built their lead to as many as 20 points and UH would get no closer than 11 points thereafter.

 

The second half was a stark contrast to the first half, which saw seven lead changes no lead bigger than six points. The 'Bows shot 50 percent in the first half and took a slim 36-35 lead at the break.  But things turned quickly in the second half as the Lobos buried four of their first six 3-point attempts after going just 3-13 in the first half and scored 19 points in barely over four minutes time.

 

Darington Hobson led the Lobos with 21 points and 10 rebounds, while Roman Martinez chipped in 19 points, including a trio of 3-pointers to fuel New Mexico's second half surge.

 

Jeremy Lay led UH with a career-high 26 points, while Hiram Thompson added 15. Leading scorer Roderick Flemings was held to just four points on 2-of-6 shooting.

 

Petras Balocka grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds for UH, the most by a 'Bow in five years. However, the Lobos became the first team to out-rebound UH this year, finishing with a 41-36 advantage. A total of 21 of those rebounds came on the offensive end as the Lobos out-scored UH, 27-11 on second chance points.

 

Up next for Hawai`i is its first road game of the season as the Rainbow Warriors face UC Irvine on Wednesday, Dec. 2. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. PT (5:00 p.m. HT).