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UH basketball defeats Arkansas-Pine Bluff

Brian McInnis

The Hawaii basketball team bounced back from its latest defeat with a 64-44 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff tonight.

UH wrapped up its seven-game season-opening homestand with a 4-3 record. The Rainbow Warriors moved to 8-0 coming off a loss under second-year coach Eran Ganot; they fell by two to Troy on Friday.

Pine Bluff (1-5) made its fifth trip to the Stan Sheriff Center in seven seasons. A crowd of 2,513 saw the SWAC team leave without a win for the fifth time.

UH got a second-half boost from junior guard Larry Lewis Jr., who scored a season-high 10 points in the period. Gibson Johnson scored 13, point guard Matt Owies had a season-high 11, and Jack Purchase added 11.

Owies and Purchase hit consecutive 3s to launch a 13-0 run that helped put the game away during a six-minute scoring drought by the Lions. The lead was 23 at its largest, 59-36.

Pine Bluff led in the game’s early moments, 12-6, but steadily lost the lead in a hail of fouls against the Golden Lions. They finished with 23 turnovers to UH’s 15.

Johnson scored twice to open the second half, extending a seven-point lead into double figures for the first time.

Purchase hit a long 3 to beat the shot clock with 9:43 left, extending the advantage to its largest of 15.

UH resumes play in the Pearl Harbor Invitational Dec. 6 and 7.

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