HONOLULU  – The University of Hawai'i men's basketball team fell victim to a second-half surge by UC San Diego in a 74-63 loss Thursday night at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.

The Rainbow Warriors fell to 12-9 overall and 4-6 in the Big West with their fourth loss in the last five games.
 
The Tritons used a decisive 22-3 run to turn a nine-point deficit into a 10-point lead and bag their first win in six trips to Honolulu. UCSD (18-4, 8-2 Big West) maintained sole possession of second place in the league standings. Meanwhile, UH remained in a tie for seventh with CSU Bakersfield.  
 
Tyler McGhie paced the Tritons with a game-high 24 points, 15 coming in the second half. 
 
Ryan Rapp, Akira Jacobs and Kody Williams each scored 11 points for the 'Bows. Aaron Hunkin-Claytor contributed four points, four assists and three steals in his first career start.  
 
UCSD took an early 9-5 lead but UH responded with an 8-0 run to move ahead. The 'Bows would lead for the remainder of the first half by shooting a sizzling 61 percent from the field, including 7-of-9 shooting from three-point territory. Kody Willliams' three-pointer with six minutes left at the half extended UH's lead to 13 points. But the Tritons, who scored 15 points off of 12 UH turnovers in the first 20 minutes, went on a 17-5 run to cut the deficit to just 34-33 at intermission. 
 
UH came out of the locker room strong, scoring the first six points. Hunkin-Claytor had a pair of nifty passes and a three-pointer and when Tanner Christensen hit a layup with 13:35 left, UH enjoyed a 47-38 lead.
 
UCSD went on a 12-0 run and moved ahead 50-47 on a McGhie three-pointer for the Tritons' first lead since early in the game. Rapp answered with a three-pointer to tie it on UH's next possession, but McGhie ignited a 10-0 UCSD surge with a layup and a three-pointer and the Tritons led 60-50 on Tait-Jones' layup with 8:40 left.
 
UH closed to within six at 65-59 with 3:49 remaining, but UCSD maintained control through the final buzzer. 
 
After its hot first half, UH shot just 38 percent after the break, including 3-of-13 from deep. UCSD forced 17 UH turnovers and scored 24 points off of takeaways.
 
The Rainbow Warriors will round out their homestand with a game versus Cal State Fullerton on Saturday, Feb. 1. Tipoff is 7:00 p.m. at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.