BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – The University of Hawai'i men's basketball team made its first visit to CSU Bakersfield a successful one with a 63-59 win over the Roadrunners Thursday at the Icardo Center.  The Rainbow Warriors improved to 8-5 overall and 3-0 in the Big West with their fourth straight victory.
 
UH shot 68 percent in the second half and held off a gritty CSUB squad (6-7, 1-3) to keep its conference record unblemished. The 'Bows have now won six of their last seven regular-season Big West dating back to last season.
 
Junior Madut led the 'Bows with 17 points, including the go-ahead jumper in the closing minutes and a pair of free throws with two seconds left to seal the win. Jerome Desrosiers added 16 points and six rebounds, while Noel Coleman chipped in 10 points with all of them coming in the decisive second half.
 
Justin McCall had a game-high 22 points points for the Roadrunners who fell to UH for the first time in three Big West meetings.
 
UH got off to a solid start in the game and led 18-10, with 8:15 left in the first half. But the Roadrunners put together a 16-3 run to surge ahead and eventually took a 28-26 lead at the break. The 'Bows trailed by just two points at the half, despite shooting just 30 percent, including 4-of-14 on three-pointers.  
 
UH responded strong out of the locker room with eight straight points and drained nine of its first 10 shots in the second half. A Madut three-pointer put UH up, 43-35, with 12:52 left, matching the team's bigges lead of the game.
 
But once again a resilient Roadrunner squad charged back and a 15-6 run put CSUB back up once again with seven minutes left. From there it was a back-and-forth affair, until Madut's three-point play with just under three minutes left put UH up for good at 59-56.
 
Trailing 59-58 with under 30 seconds left, CSUB had the opportunity to take the lead but missed three shots on that single possession. UH eventually grabbed the rebound and secured the win with five consecutive free throws from Desrosiers and Madut.
 
The 'Bows look for a road sweep when it travels to Cal Poly on Saturday, January 22.  Tipoff is 7:00 p.m.  PT/5:00 p.m. HT.