HONOLULU – The University of Hawai'i men's basketball team got back to its winning ways with a 98-71 rout of CSU Bakersfield Thursday night at Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
The Rainbow Warriors improved to 14-4 overall and remained in a tie with UC Irvine for first place in the Big West standings with a 6-2 mark.
Five days after suffering a double-digit loss at UC Santa Barbara – just the team's second loss in the previous 11 games – UH jumped all over the Roadrunners and dominated from start to finish. The 'Bows won their eighth straight game at Bankoh Arena to improve to a sparkling 12-1 at home this season.
Dre Bullock started the game with a thunderous dunk on UH's first possession, setting the tone for what would be a dominating performance by the 'Bows. Bullock posted a double-double by halftime and finished with 17 points and career-high tying 12 rebounds.
It was a milestone night for the senior from Franklinton, N.C. as his three-pointer five minutes into the second half gave him 1,000 points for his Division I career.
Five others scored in double-digits, including
Isaiah Kerr who poured in a season-high 16 points off the bench.
Isaac Johnson finished with 12,
Harry Rouhliadeff and Gytis Nemeiksa had 11, while
Yacine Toumi scored 10. All 10 active players got into the scoring column as UH exceeded 90 points in a game for the fourth time this season.
Dailin Smith scored a game-high 28 points for CSUB (8-13, 2-7) while going an astounding 20-of-25 from the line. Smith's 25 free throw attempts set a new UH record by an opponent.
UH scored 10 of the first 12 points of the game and held a 20-5 lead less than six minutes in. The 'Bows built their lead to as many as 21 in the first half before taking a 48-30 lead at intermission. In a foul-plagued first half, UH feasted at the line, going 19-of-26, while the Roadrunners (14 of 18) scored nearly half their points at the charity stripe.
The 'Bows held the Runners to just 29 percent shooting in the first half. CSUB shot considerably better in the second half (41 percent) but couldn't keep up with a Rainbow Warriors squad that shot 51 percent after the break. UH missed eight of nine three-point attempts in the first half but buried a half dozen treys after the break.
UH out-scored CSUB 46-28 in the paint and after uncharacteristically being out-rebounded in four straight games, dominated the glass with a 53-26 advantage. The 'Bows snagged 17 offensive rebounds and out-scored the 'Runners 26-6 on second-chance points.
The win was UH's fifth straight over the Roadrunners in Honolulu.
The Rainbow Warriors will complete their homestand when they take on CSUN on Saturday, Jan. 24. Tipoff is at 7:00 p.m. HT.
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