HONOLULU  – The University of Hawai'i men's basketball team got back on the winning track with an emphatic 72-55 win over Cal State Fullerton Saturday night before a raucous White Out crowd and a national television audience.  With the win the Rainbow Warriors (12-8, 7-3 Big West) ended a three-game skid and moved into a tie for second place in the league standings with the Titans (14-8, 7-3).
 
UH got the job done on both ends of the court. The 'Bows shots 52 percent in the decisive second half and held the Titans to just 32 percent shooting for the game. UH also dominated the backboards with a 45-31 rebounding advantage.
 
Noel Coleman scored 24 points – his second straight 20-point performance this week and seventh of the season – to lead the way. Coleman went 4-of-5 on three-pointers, including a buzzer beat at half to give UH a six-point lead at the break.
 
Junior Madut posted his second career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, while also adding five assists and a block. Bernardo da Silva finished with 12 points, while Jerome Desroisers had nine points and eight rebounds.
 
Defensively, UH locked down on one of the league's top scorers and rebounders. The Titan's E.J. Anosike finished with just four points (2-of-10 shooting) and four rebounds as Cal State Fullerton was limited to a season-low 55 points.
 
The Titans actually started the game strong and built a double-digit lead, 17-7, nine minutes in. UH, however, recovered and used a 15-4 run, capped by Coleman's three-pointer at the buzzer to take a 30-24 lead into the locker room.
 
The Titans cut the deficit to 30-28 in the opening minutes of the second half. But the momentum shifted for good from that point on. Desrosiers scored seven straight points for the 'Bows to kick-start a gigantic run of 17 unanswered points. UH ultimately built its lead to as many as 23 points while notching its seventh win in its last eight games against the Titans.
 
The 'Bows now head for the road for a pair of games in Southern California beginning with their first-ever visit to UC San Diego on Thursday, Feb. 17. Tipoff is 7:00 p.m. PT/5:00 p.m. HT.