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HONOLULU – Powered by the record-breaking shooting of a redshirt freshman, the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team cruised to a 76-61 win over UC Riverside Saturday night at the Stan Sheriff Center. Brandon Jawato went a perfect 7-of-7 on three-pointers—in the first half alone—to give UH its third straight win to start Big West play.
 
With the win UH improved to 9-5 overall and have started conference play 3-0 for the first time in 11 years. It all started with the hot hand of Jawato, who scored as many points by at half as the entire Highlander squad. UH built a 40-21 lead by the break and were never threatened in the second half.
 
Jawato set a freshman record for three-pointers made and tied a Big West and UH record for three-pointers without a miss. The native of El Segundo, Calif., did all it basically in one half of action after sitting out the majority of the second half due to cramps.
 
Three other Rainbow Warriors joined Jawato in double-digits. Christian Standhardinger finished with 17 points, while Vander Joaquim recorded his fifth double-double of the year with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Two days after nearly setting a freshman single-game scoring record, Isaac Fotu contributed 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
 
UH broke the game open midway through the first half with 14 unanswered points, nine of those on a trio of consecutive three-pointers by Jawato. UH shot 60 percent from the floor in the first half while building its lead to as many as 21 points.
 
The Rainbow Warriors wouldn't look back in the second half as the Highlanders would get no closer than 13 points after the break.  UH finished the game shooting 55 percent from the floor, nailing 63 percent on three pointers (10-16) and making all but two of its 14 free throw attempts.  They also got the job done on the defensive end of the court, holding the Highlanders (4-11, 1-2 BWC) to just 31 percent in the decisive first half.
 
UH will now head to the road for the first time in Big West play for a pair of games in Southern California. First up for the Rainbow Warriors is a nationally televised matchup with UC Irvine on Wednesday, Jan. 9. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU with tipoff set for 8:00 p.m. PT (6:00 p.m. HT).