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KRYSTLE MARCELLUS / KMARCELLUS@STARADVERTISER.COM
University of Hawaii Rainbow Warrior's Mike Thomas fights for a rebound against Prairie View A&M's Tre Hagood in the first half of a men's basketball game at the Stan Sheriff Center on Tuesday.
The Hawaii men’s basketball team concluded its nonconference schedule with another victory.
UH (12-4) won for the fifth time in six games with a 76-68 defeat of Prairie View A&M at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Five Rainbow Warriors scored in double figures as UH shot 52.6 percent from the field and 76.9 percent at the free-throw line.
A Tuesday night crowd of 3,292 was quiet much of the way as Prairie View of the Southwestern Athletic Conference hung around, but UH used a late 10-0 run to seize control after the game was tied at 58 with 7:26 to play. Forward Mike Thomas scored eight straight points for UH as part of his career-high-tying 14 points.
Prairie View (2-11) clawed within 70-66 on Montrael Scott’s fifth 3-pointer with 1:31 to play. But Isaac Fleming made an acrobatic lefty layup and UH followed with an alley-oop dunk from Roderick Bobbitt (nine assists, six turnovers) to Aaron Valdes to widen the margin again.
Fleming scored 11, while Garrett Nevels, Negus Webster-Chan and Quincy Smith added 10 points apiece.
UH was playing a SWAC team for the second straight night. It beat Southern by 14 on Monday night.
UH came in with a 16-0 record against SWAC teams, but that was in jeopardy much of the way as the Panthers hit 10 3-pointers, tying the season high allowed by a UH opponent. Scott had 27 points before leaving late with an injury.
UH could not gain separation in the first half, but took a 38-36 lead at the break when Stefan Jovanovic hit a baseline jumper on a feed from Garrett Nevels to beat the buzzer.
