The University of Hawai’i men’s basketball team secured an 86-66 victory over Cal Poly on Thursday night at Mott Gymnasium in San Luis Obispo, California. With this win, the Rainbow Warriors improved their season record to 13-3 and achieved their ninth win in ten games.
This result places Hawai’i in a tie for first place in the Big West Conference standings alongside UC Irvine, both holding a 5-1 conference record.
Gytis Nemeikša led the Rainbow Warriors with a double-double, scoring 21 points and grabbing 11 rebounds while shooting 10-of-15 from the field. Dre Bullock contributed 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting and matched his career high with six steals. Hunter Erickson added 15 points, and Isaac Johnson scored 11 points and recorded two blocks.
Head coach Eran Ganot commented on his team’s performance: “Work it around to @hunterericksonn and good things will happen.”
Hawai’i’s defense limited Cal Poly’s Hamad Mousa—one of the nation’s top scorers—to just 17 points on 6-of-19 shooting, including only two successful three-pointers out of thirteen attempts. Overall, UH held Cal Poly to 39 percent shooting from the field and just 25 percent (8-for-32) from beyond the arc.
The Rainbow Warriors built a seven-point lead during the first half before entering halftime ahead by five points at 41-36. They capitalized on turnovers by scoring fourteen points off ten Mustang mistakes while maintaining a shooting percentage of fifty-three percent.
Early in the second half, Hawai’i went on an eight-point run within sixty-eight seconds to extend its lead to fourteen points at 54-40. The team maintained a double-digit advantage for the remainder of the game.
After allowing seven three-pointers by Cal Poly in the first half, Hawai’i restricted them to just one successful attempt from long range after halftime. Offensively, UH continued its efficient play by finishing with fifty-three percent shooting overall and sixty-five percent accuracy inside the arc while committing only five turnovers after intermission.
With this latest win, Hawai’i has now defeated Cal Poly in ten of their last eleven meetings—including four victories out of five games played in San Luis Obispo.
The Rainbow Warriors’ next contest is scheduled against UC Santa Barbara at Thunderdome on Saturday, January 17. Tipoff is set for 6:00 p.m. PT/4:00 p.m. HT.
