On the mark

One half of masterful marksmanship helped keep the Hawaii men’s basketball team flawless in the Big West Conference.

Redshirt freshman Brandon Jawato scored 21 points off the bench, all on seven perfect 3-point attempts before halftime, and UH shot down UC Riverside 76-61 before a crowd of about 5,500 on Saturday night at the Stan Sheriff Center.

The Rainbow Warriors (9-5 overall) shot 55.1 percent and kept pace with Cal Poly atop the league standings at 3-0 heading into the team’s first BWC road trip at UC Irvine and Long Beach State next week.

That was largely thanks to Jawato, who tied Matt Lojeski’s program record for long-range makes without a miss, and set a new high for the most triples by a UH freshman.

"It’s fun to see a guy like Brandon Jawato have an unbelievable night," UH coach Gib Arnold said. "Seven-for-7 in the first half. I’ve never seen that before in 20 years of coaching.

"Starting off 3-0 and now going on the road to a really tough road trip, these guys have a lot of confidence and they’ve earned it. Back to the grind."

Jawato boosted the Rainbow Warriors to a 19-point halftime lead and UCR could not muster the firepower to make a serious dent in the deficit. The Highlanders (4-11, 1-2) got no closer than 13 in the second half and UH had its reserves in for the last few minutes.

"I’m just trying to be a team player. (When) it comes out, i’m trying to knock down a shot," said Jawato, who was not aware of Lojeski’s record. "I’m not trying to be just be an offensive minded player, and play on the defensive side as well."

Three-point shooting has been hit-or-miss this season for the ‘Bows, but it was decidedly hit on this night. As a team, UH shot 10-for-16 (62.5 percent) from long range. The ‘Bows were one off their season high for 3-point makes.

For once, the ‘Bows’ inside game played the complementary role. Senior center Vander Joaquim had his fifth double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Junior forward Christian Standhardinger had 17 points on 6-for-8 shooting and freshman post Isaac Fotu added 10 points.

"He just freed us up," Joaquim said of Jawato’s night. "I’m just happy to see everybody on the team contributing. … we feel more confident to play inside (with that)."

UCR went without a 3-pointer in its 65-64 upset win at Cal State Northridge on Thursday. The Highlanders, one of the worst-shooting teams in the country, were 3-for-16 in this one and did not have the interior answer for another unlikely win.

Neither team gained separation in the first few minutes, but Jawato was instant offense off the bench as he hit four straight 3s. Point guard Jace Tavita, who came off the bench behind freshman Manroop Clair again, had seven assists, including several finds of Jawato in the open court.

Combined with an effective 1-2-2 hybrid zone which features 7-foot backup center Davis Rozitis at the top of the arc, UH broke away. The Highlanders shot 31 percent in the first half, and Jawato’s 21 first-half points matched UCR’s output as the ‘Bows swaggered into the break up 40-21 while shooting 60 percent.

UCR, a team ineligible for the BWC tournament this your because of APR issues, ranks near the bottom of the country in both points per game and field-goal percentage. One of the youngest teams in the country had no answer from long range (3-for-16) and could not turn UH over enough (14 times).

"That’s a physical team," Arnold said. "They played ya hard, bumped ya and hit ya, played aggressively. Our guys did a great job of countering that and played physical basketball."

Meanwhile, Jawato was unconscious in the first half, hitting treys on spot-ups, fast break pull-ups from all around the arc. He kicked off the game-breaking 14-0 run with three straight 3s. The freshman’s outburst forced UCR to increase its pace beyond its comfort level.

Jawato entered the game with 12 3-point makes on the season.

"That was the difference in the ball game," UCR coach Jim Wooldridge said. "That was remarkable. … If he wasn’t hitting a 3 in the first half, we were giving up a shot in the pivot. They’ve got a good team, shooters like that, and certainly that inside game. I mean, that’s real balance. We didn’t have an answer for it."

UH has struggled with holding a large lead for much of the season, but the ‘Bows did an adequate job of closing out this one. They finished 12-for-14 at the free-throw line, led by Standhardinger’s 4-for-4 effort.

The Highlanders’ most serious charge, to get within 50-37, was answered by an Isaac Fotu dunk on a set play with 12 minutes left. Freshman Ozren Pavlovic scored on the fast break from a Fotu pass the next trip down, forcing Wooldridge to call timeout.

Jawato cramped up right after he was inserted a few minutes into the second half. By the time he returned with 6:30 to play, he wasn’t looking to shoot, and passed up several looks for an eighth 3.

Trevor Ruffin has the UH record for 3s in a game with 10, followed by Zane Johnson with nine.

Reserve point guard Garrett Jefferson, the game-winning hero of UH’s defeat of Cal State Fullerton on Thursday, did not check in until nine minutes remained in the game.

Freshman forward Josh Fox led UCR with 12 points.