Box Score

HONOLULU – The University of Hawai'i men's basketball team got off to a strong start in its final season in the Western Athletic Conference with a convincing 82-69 win over San Jose State Saturday night at the Stan Sheriff Center. With the win UH improved to 9-6 overall and won its first conference opener in six years.
 
The Rainbow Warriors led from wire-to-wire, building its lead to as many as 20 points, and denying a Spartan (6-9, 0-1 WAC) rally midway through the second half. Defense was the key as UH held the Spartans to just 35 percent shooting and blanketed standout guards James Kinney and Keith Shamburger—the third and fourth-leading scorers in the WAC. The duo entered the game averaging a combined 32.1 points, but were held to just 17 points on 5-19 shooting.
 
UH was led by the duo of Joston Thomas and Vander Joaquim who combined for more than half of UH's points and rebounds. Thomas scored a career-high 27 points and added eight rebounds, while Joaquim recorded his fourth double-double this season with 20 points and 14 rebounds. With San Jose State's guards contained, Spartan forward Will Carter led San Jose State with 21 points and 20 rebounds.
 
UH came out blazing, nailing 15 of its first 21 shots and built its lead to as many as 17 points in the first half before eventually taking a 42-31 lead into the break. Joaquim and Thomas combined to score 24 points as UH tallied its most first-half points this season.
 
The 'Bows scored the first nine points of the second half to build its lead to 20 points, 51-31. But the Spartans did not fold and went on an 18-4 run—including 12 unanswered points—to cut the deficit to just six points. But that would be as close as San Jose State would get as the 'Bows clamped down on defense and held a double-digit lead for much of the remainder of the game.
 
The Rainbow Warriors now head to the road for a pair of games at Fresno State (Jan. 12) and Nevada (Jan. 14).