‘Bows hope to recapture their mojo

Hawaii aims for a speedy recovery tonight at Cal State Northridge, where the rebuilding job by new coach Reggie Theus is well underway.

Theus, a one-time NBA All-Star and ex-head coach at New Mexico State and with the Sacramento Kings, won his first Big West Conference game on Thursday, 89-77 over UC Davis.

Meanwhile, UH saw its nonconference momentum — an 11-3 record — wither in a matter of minutes at Cal Poly that same day, and the Rainbow Warriors fell 77-65 in a Big West opener they never led. It was UH’s fifth straight defeat at the hands of the Mustangs going back to 2010.

UH will try to salvage a split on its first multi-game road trip of the season, in a gym even smaller than Cal Poly’s 3,000-seat Mott Athletics Center.

Northridge’s Matadome is listed at a capacity of 1,600. Tipoff is at 5 p.m.

Theus, who is from the nearby Inglewood area, said fan support has been a work in progress, despite a 6-1 record at the Matadome (9-7 overall).

"I think it’s been below-average," Theus said. "You know, I think that’s an area that we have to win and we have to earn that support. It may take some time, but we’re working hard to do it."

UH is hoping hard work will allow it to rediscover its winning touch on the road, where it has lost four straight Big West games, dating back to last season.

Rediscovering a 3-point touch would go a long way. UH is a combined 6-for-35 from deep in its past two games.

Point guard Keith Shamburger was held scoreless in the Cal Poly loss, the first time that happened in his 78-game college career, including 63 at San Jose State.

On postgame KKEA radio, UH coach Gib Arnold spoke of being disappointed in his team’s effort for the first time this season.

Arnold could not be reached for comment after practice at Northridge on Friday night.

In the Riley Wallace era, UH went 1-4 against Theus when he coached New Mexico State in 2005-06 and 2006-07. That last year, the Aggies made the NCAA Tournament and Theus parlayed it into the head coaching gig of the Kings, a tenure that lasted two seasons.

He’s bounced around since as an NBA assistant and D-League coach.

"You know, I’m happy to be back in college. I’m very happy," Theus said. "Coaching in the NBA was great, wouldn’t trade it for the world. It made me a better coach. I can now say I’ve been a coach at every level that there is in basketball. And I’ve seen it from every perspective there is. Coaching in the minor leagues and coaching in the NBA. It helps with the credibility with my players, understanding I’m not telling them something I read about. … But being back in college is where I wanted to be."

The cupboard was not bare for Theus, though he has only nine scholarship players. He has a talented trio of returning players to mold in wing Stephan Hicks (17.6 ppg, 7.2 rpg), forward Stephen Maxwell (17.1 ppg, 8.3 rpg) and senior guard Josh Greene (15.2 ppg). Hicks and Maxwell are juniors.

Greene hit seven 3-pointers and scored 37 points in Northridge’s 88-75 win over UH at the Matadome last season. It was the final game for 17-year coach Bobby Braswell, as the team did not qualify for the Big West tournament. Braswell was fired after going 14-17 (5-13 BWC), setting the stage for Theus’ hire.

Northridge has scored at an up-tempo clip (76.1 ppg) under its new coach, rivaling that of league-best UH (80.9).

UH is 2-1 all-time at Northridge, with the two wins coming on back-to-back days in December 1960.