HONOLULU  —  The University of Hawai'i men's basketball team got back on track with an 83-73 win over Cal Poly Saturday night at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. With the win UH improved to 11-10 overall and 3-6 in the Big West while ending a three-game slide.
 
After a tight first half, the 'Bows pulled away after the break when they out-scored Cal Poly 57-50. It marked UH's seventh straight win against the Mustangs and the 10th straight time they have beaten them in Honolulu. The Mustangs (4-17, 0-9) dropped their ninth straight contest while still searching for their first Big West win of the year.
 
Noel Coleman led four Rainbow Warriors in double-figures with 23 points. Justin McKoy added 13 points, JoVon McClanahan finished with 12 and Juan Munoz scored 11. Bernardo da Silva nearly had a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds in his sixth game with double-digit boards. 
 
UH made 35 of 46 free throws with Coleman going 11 for 12 from the line. McClanahan went 6 for 6 and McKoy made all five of his attempts.
 
UH led for the majority of the first half. The 'Bows trailed 9-8 less than seven minutes into the game but proceeded to score 10 of the game's next 13 points to take the lead for good. UH led by as many as eight points, but never fully pulled away from the Mustangs, holding a narrow 26-23 lead at the break. UH turned the ball over just once, but shot just 37 percent from the floor, including 2-of-14 on three-pointers. 
 
The 'Bows set the tone out of the locker room, scoring the first nine points of the second half to take their first double-digit lead. Cal Poly cut the deficit 45-38 with eight minutes left but that would be as close as it would get. UH went on a 19-8 run over the next five minutes to build its lead to 18 points with less than four minutes left. 
 
Cal Poly made one final rally with a flurry of three-pointers and fouls to cut the deficit to single-digits. However, UH scored its final 21 points from the free-throw line to seal the win. 
 
UH out-scored Cal Poly 25-7 in points off turnovers and 25-6 in fast-break points. The 'Bows finished with eight turnovers to Cal Poly's 14.
 
The Rainbow Warriors will head on the road to face Cal State Fullerton on Feb. 1 and UC Irvine on Feb. 3. Both games are set for 5 p.m. Hawaii Time.