HONOLULU – The University of Hawai'i men's basketball team started its final Big West campaign on a winning note with a 75-69 victory over UC Davis on Thursday at Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
UH (7-2) led for the near entirety of the game – including a double-digit lead on a multitude of occasions – but needed to endure a tense final stretch.
Ultimately, UH secured the win on the free-throw line. The 'Bows struggled all night from the line, going just 18-of-31, but scored their final nine points from the line, including five straight from
Aaron Hunkin-Claytor.
Dre Bullock led 'Bows with 15 points and finished with six rebounds, three assists and four steals.
Hunter Erickson added 14 points on 5-for-7 shooting from the field, including a 3-for-5 performance from 3-point range.
Yacine Toumi set his high as a Rainbow Warrior with 13 points while hitting all four of his field-goal attempts and going 5 for 6 from the free-throw line. Hunkin-Claytor finished with nine points, going 7 for 9 from the line.
UH shot 54.3 percent from the game, including 7-of-16 from three-point territory.
Connor Sevilla scored all of his game-high 17 points in the second half, while Nils Cooper added 14 for the Aggies (5-3).
UH got off to a torrid start in the conference opener. UH spotted the Aggies the first bucket of the game, but then went on a 15-3 run to take a double-digit lead less than five minutes into the game. UH hit five of their first seven shots, including 4-of-4 from beyond the arc courtesy of Bullock and Erickson.
The 'Bows cooled down, missing nine of 11 shots and the Aggies retook the lead, 23-22, at the 5:54 mark on a pair of Niko Rocak free throws. But once again UH surged ahead, scoring 10 unanswered points before eventually taking a 33-28 lead at the break.
UH out-shot UCD 52 percent to 33 percent in the first half, but went just 5 of 11 from the line.
The 'Bows extended the lead to 40-30 on a dunk by
Harry Rouhliadeff to finish a fast break. UC Davis rallied to close within four at 44-40 on a Chappell 3-pointer, but Toumi answered with consecutive layups and
Isaiah Kerr hit a 3-pointer to stretch the lead back to 11.
Bullock electrified the crowd with a dunk off a lob from Erickson to give UH a 66-59 lead with 2:45 left. That would be UH's last field goal and Hunkin-Claytor's run from the free-throw line helped the 'Bows hold off the Aggies' comeback attempts. UC Davis closed to three with 1:05 left but Bullock and Hunkin-Claytor drained four foul shots in the final minute to seal UH's seventh straight home win in the series with the Aggies.
The Rainbow Warriors continue the opening week of Big West play on Saturday, Dec. 6 when they take on Cal State Fullerton. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. at Bankoh Arena.
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