HONOLULU – A battle between the top two teams in the Big West lived up to the billing, and
Hunter Erickson's shot at the buzzer propelled the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team to a thrilling 67-66 victory over UC Irvine on Saturday night at Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
With the final seconds running down, Erickson's fadeaway jumper fell through the net as the buzzer sounded to ignite a wild on-court celebration and electrified the largest crowd of the season.
Erickson's game-winner delivered the last of 22 lead changes and the 'Bows improved to 12-3 overall and 4-1 in Big West play while handing UC Irvine (12-6, 5-1) its first conference loss of the season.
UCI's Derin Saran scored the last of his game-high 22 points on a layup with 12 seconds left to push the Anteaters ahead. UH worked the ball over halfcourt and called its last timeout. In the final possession, Erickson drove to the middle and drained a free-throw line jumper to snap UCI's four-game winning streak in the series between the teams.
Erickson finished with seven points, five rebounds and four assists and posted three of UH's 11 blocked shots.
Isaac Johnson scored a team-high 15 points while dealing with foul trouble for much of the night.
Harry Rouhliadeff sparked the 'Bows early in the game on his way to a 14-point performance.
Aaron Hunkin-Claytor added 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting from the field and dished out six assists.
The teams entered the game among the top statistical defenses nationally and it showed from the start. By halftime the teams combined for 12 blocks while neither team shot better than 35 percent.
Johnson, UH's leading scorer and rebounder, exited the game with foul trouble less than two minutes into the game, yet the 'Bows took an early 17-9 lead. A cold spell that included a string of 11 straight misses allowed for a 9-0 UCI run that gave the Anteaters an 18-17 lead. But UH responded with seven unanswered points of their own, including a pair of three-pointers by Erickson and Rouhliadeff.
UH eventually took a 29-27 lead into the locker room despite the team's top two scorers, Johnson and
Dre Bullock (0-for-6), being held without a single point. Rouliadeff however picked up the slack with 11 points to give UH the edge.
The 'Bows and Anteaters traded blows throughout the second half with neither team opened more than a four-point margin. There were 11 ties in the final 20 minutes, the last coming when Johnson drained two free throws with 1:48 left. Johnson then gave UH the lead with a bucket in the paint at the 1:11 mark, but UCI answered again with a free throw and a UH turnover set up Saran's final basket. Erickson's decisive shot then provided a memorable punctuation to the final meeting between the teams in Honolulu as conference rivals
The Rainbow Warriors now head back to the road for a pair of games starting with a matchup at Cal Poly on Thursday, January 15. Tipoff is 7:00 p.m. PT/5:00 p.m. HT at the Mott Athletics Center.
#HawaiiMBB
