LONG BEACH, Calif. – The University of Hawai'i men's basketball team overcame a hot Long Beach State start and late rally to pick up an 89-82 road win over the Beach Saturday afternoon at the LBS Federal Credit Union Pyramid. The Rainbow Warriors improved to 16-5 overall and 8-3 in conference to maintain second place in the Big West.

Less than 48 hours after a tough loss at UC Irvine, the 'Bows used a game changing-run and superlative efforts from Dre Bullock and Isaac Finlinson to get back in the win column and hand the Beach (8-15, 4-7) their fourth straight loss. 

UH went on a key 20-4 run bridging the first and second half to turn a three-point deficit to a double-digit lead. Finlinson, who finished with a career-high 19 points, keyed UH's surge by nailing four straight three-pointers to balloon UH's lead to as many as 15.

Meanwhile, Bullock scored a season-high 26 points, including four key points in the waning moments, none bigger than his baseline jumper with 27 seconds after the Beach trimmed the UH lead to just one in the final minute. Bullock, who shot 10-of-17 from the field and 6-of-6 from the line, also had a team-high nine rebounds. 

🧅🧅 @Quandre_3 #RoadWarriors x #GoBows pic.twitter.com/N5n8QeUN6Z

— HAWAII BASKETBALL (@HawaiiMBB) January 31, 2026

It was enough to offset a pair of 22-point games by LBSU's Shaquil Bender and Petar Majstorovic. 

LBSU was without the services of their top scorer Gavin Sykes but Bender more than shouldered the load early by draining his first four three-point attempts to spark a hot start by the Beach. Led by Bender, LBSU hit eight of its first 11 shots as the Beach took a 22-13 lead midway through the first half.

But UH used a pair of runs to get back in it. A 13-2 surge put UH back up in just three minutes time. The Beach held a 31-28 lead with 2:12 left in the period, but the 'Bows scored eight straight to end the half, capped by Bullock's coast-to-coast layup at the buzzer as UH took a 36-31 lead into the locker room. After its hot start the Beach missed 16 of its next 20 shots. 

UH continued its run after the break. After missing its first four shots, UH drilled each of its next seven, highlighted by Finlinson's hot hand from beyond the arc. After back-to-back treys by Finlinson UH took a 48-35 lead less than five minutes into the half.

UH 45 LBSU 35 | 2H - 15:55

'Bows have staked a double-digit lead following a transition 3 by Ike Finlinson.

📺 Spectrum SportsNet#RoadWarriors x #GoBows pic.twitter.com/Tlpco6aBmp

— HAWAII BASKETBALL (@HawaiiMBB) January 31, 2026

The 'Bows led 70-55 with less than eight minutes left but the Beach slowly chipped away. After a bevy of UH fouls and turnovers, LBSU got within just one point, 83-82, on a pair of Majstorovic free throws with 54 seconds left. On the next possession, Bullock answered with a jumper that hit nothing but net to give UH a three-point edge with 27 seconds left. LBSU turned the ball over on their next possession and Bullock drained a pair of free throws to secure the UH win. 

LBSU out-rebounded UH, 36-29, including a whopping 20 offensive rebounds that they converted into 25 points. However, UH shot 64 percent in the second half, went 8-fo-14 on threes, 23-of-29 from the line and out-scored the Beach 17-2 on fast break points. UH got 14 points from Isaac Johnson and the third straight eight-assist game from Hunter Erickson who added 13 points.

The Rainbow Warriors now return home for a single-game week as they host UC San Diego on  Saturday, Feb. 7. Tipoff is 7:00 p.m. at Bankoh Arena.