DAVIS, Calif. – The Hawai'i men's basketball team picked up a critical road win in the quest for a conference title, holding off UC Davis, 77-73, Thursday at University Federal Credit Union Center. With their first win at Davis in six tries, the Rainbow Warriors (20-7, 12-5) maintained a share of first-place in the Big West.
A flurry of three-pointers put UH up by as many as 14 points against UCD early in the second half, before the 'Bows held off a late Aggie (17-12, 10-8) rally. With three regular-season games remaining the 'Bows currently sit in a tie for first with UC Irvine which won at the buzzer at CSUN in a battle between the other two teams atop the conference.
Isaac Johnson led five Rainbow Warriors in double figures with 16 points, including a pair of free throws with 17 seconds left to hold the Aggies at bay. Johnson scored 14 of his points in the first half, powered by a trio of three-pointers to help the 'Bows stake a double-digit lead at halftime.
Hunter Erickson finished with 15 points and was also part of the 3-point barrage, making his first three attempts. Erickson also added six rebounds and six assists while logging in close to 39 minutes for the game.
Isaac Finlinson poured in 13, Harry Rouhliadeff 11 and Gytis Nemeikša 10 to help UH pick up its first win in Davis since 2021. UH shot 51 percent for the game and 10-of-22 three-point attempts.
Marcus Wilson scored a game-high 25 points and sparked the UC Davis' comeback that eventually fell short.
It was a back-and-forth game for the first 10 minutes, with UH clinging to a 21-20 lead. But the 'Bows went on an 8-0 run, highlighted by a pair of Erickson three-pointers to create some distance. By the end of the half, when Erickson lobbed an alley-oop to Dre Bullock for a UH basket, the 'Bows extended its lead to 43-31 going into the locker room .
UH picked up right where they left off in the second half with a Rouhliadeff three-pointer on its first offensive possession to make it a 46-32 lead in the opening minute. Rouhliadeff hit another three and a Finlinson's triple at the 17:05 mark gave a UH a 52-39 lead after making 10 of its first 16 three-point attempts.
Davis would not fold and continued to chip away at the lead getting within three with eight minutes left. UH held off each rally and took a 72-62 lead on a Nemeiksa floater with 3:30 left. But the Aggies had one last push cutting the deficit to just two on pair of occasions in the last 24 seconds. However, UH sealed the game with four free throws – two by Johnson and another two by Finlinson with 11 seconds left to secure the final margin.
UH forced 17 UCD turnovers off 10 steals and held the Aggies, the second-best three-point shooting team in the conference, to just 8-of-26 from beyond the arc.
The Rainbow Warriors will now head south for its final Big West visit to Cal State Fullerton on Saturday, Feb. 28. Tipoff is 4 p.m. PT/2 p.m HT at Titan Gym.
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