HONOLULU  – The University of Hawai'i men's basketball team suffered a setback in its bid to move back to the top of the Big West standings with a 73-66 loss to red-hot Long Beach State Thursday night at the SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. The Rainbow Warriors dropped to 11-8 overall and 6-3  in conference with their third straight loss.
 
The Beach (14-9, 9-1), meanwhile, maintained sole possession of first in the Big West with their 10th straight win. UH now sits in a tie for third place in the league.
 
Aboubacar Traore led four Beach players in double-digits with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Noel Coleman scored a game-high 22 points and Jerome Desrosiers finished with 16 but it wasn't enough for a Rainbow Warriors squad that was once again stung by turnovers and lapses on both ends of the floor during  crucial moments.
 
Long Beach State scored 12 unanswered points early on, held UH to 33 percent shooting and forced 11 turnovers in the first half. Still, UH trailed just 28-23 at the break, thanks to some tough defense of its own and a dominating effort on the glass (22-12).  
 
UH took much better care of the ball in the second half (four turnovers), allowing them to not only keep up with LBSU, but to eventually take the lead. JoVon McClanahan's driving layup with 6:55 remaining gave the 'Bows a 54-53 lead, their first lead since the opening minutes of the game. However, that lead was fleeting, as the Beach answered with an 8-2 run to put them back up for good.
 
LBSU shot 52 percent in the second half to seal the win, while UH finished the game just below 40 percent from the floor. The 'Bows did hold a 38-30 advantage on the boards, however, the Beach out-scored UH 38-28 in the paint.
 
The 'Bows next take on second-place Cal State Fullerton (14-7, 7-2) in a nationally-televised "White Out" game. Tipoff is 7:00 p.m. at SimpliFi Arean at Stan Sheriff Center.