HONOLULU  –  The University of Hawai'i men's basketball team got back in the win column with a decisive 75-54 win over Cal Poly Thursday night at the Stan Sheriff Center. UH improved to 15-9 overall and moved into a tie for third in the Big West with a 6-4 mark.
 
UH put the clamps on the Mustangs (5-18, 1-9 BWC) in the first half, heated up offensively in the second half, and got strong bench play to pick up its seventh win in its last eight meetings with Cal Poly.
 
Drew Buggs scored a season high 17 points and dished out eight assists to lead UH. Dawson Carper added a career-high 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting and was part of a UH bench that poured in more than half the team's points (38).   
 
UH held Cal Poly to just 27 percent (7-of-26) shooting in the first half and out-scored the Mustangs 20-6 inside the paint  to take a 26-19 lead into the locker room. The 'Bows opened the second half with a 10-2 run, highlighted by back-to-back three-pointers by Brocke Stepteau and Buggs.
 
That gave the 'Bows a 15-point lead, a lead they wouldn't relinquish. The Mustangs would get no closer than nine thereafter and UH shut the door for good with less than five minutes left with an 8-0 run that put them up 63-46. Jack Purchase drilled a three-pointer during that run to tie Zane Johnson's all-time mark of 180 three-pointers at UH. Purchase finished with five points and a game-high eight rebounds.
 
UH shot 52 percent from the floor for the game and were an efficient 8-of-15 from behind the mark. The 'Bows also committed just nine turnovers, the fourth time in the last five games they had single-digit turnovers.
 
The Rainbow Warriors will next host UC Riverside on Saturday, February 16 as part of a double-header with the women. Tipoff is at approximately 8:00 p.m., following the women's game vs. Long Beach State at 5:30 p.m.