‘Bows bump Beach

The game couldn’t end fast enough, until Hawaii finally ended it.

Five Rainbow Warriors scored in double figures as UH rocked Big West-leader Long Beach State in the first half, then got through a suspenseful second half in putting away the 49ers 94-73 on Thursday night. UH won its season-best fourth straight game and remained in the regular-season title hunt.

A flawless first half had the ‘Bows (14-9, 8-4) up by an astonishing 33 points at the break and the Stan Sheriff Center crowd of about 6,000 rocking.

LBSU (13-9, 9-2), the two-time defending champion, had no intention of going quietly.

The Beach, the most athletic team the Big West, came out aggressive to start the second half, stepping up its ball pressure to get within 14 points. UH turned it over 18 times in the second half after just five giveaways in the first.

In the end, a few tweaks against the press and an emphatic 46-21 advantage on the glass were enough to hold on.

"That is college basketball, right there," UH coach Gib Arnold said. "An unbelievable atmosphere, crowd was great, student section was wonderful.

"This team continues to get better. As a coach, you can’t ask for anything else."

Coming off a three-game road winning streak, UH kept rolling and improved to 5-1 at home in BWC play.

UH moved into a virtual tie with Pacific for second place and within two in the loss column of LBSU, which had its eight-game winning streak snapped.

UH next faces UC Irvine (12-12, 6-5) at home on Saturday.

"We are Hawaii basketball. That’s the message," said junior forward Christian Standhardinger, who had his ninth double-double with 20 points and 13 rebounds.

Hauns Brereton had a game-high 21 points for UH. Vander Joaquim shot 7-for-11 for 18 points and Brandon Spearman added 16. Brandon Jawato scored all of his 12 in UH’s prolific first half.

LBSU had held its past three opponents under 60 points. The Rainbow Warriors nearly had that by halftime, when they led 53-20.

"The game was already over," LBSU coach Dan Monson said.

"You have to give Hawaii a ton of credit," he added. "They were better prepared. They ended that game after the first 20 minutes with aggressive offense and defense. It was the best half of basketball I’ve seen in our conference this year."

Despite that, LBSU went on a 13-0 run to get within 61-45 with 13:18 remaining. The Beach forced UH into traps on inbound passes; it would be about eight minutes into the half when UH got past midcourt with regularity again. The visitors finished with a UH opponent-high 19 steals.

"We had to make some adjustments. In that situation, it’s kind of like you’re on the highway and somebody cuts you off," Brereton said. "We did that and luckily we figured it out."

The 49ers shot just 38.2 percent, but went 26-for-37 from the foul line to keep themselves close enough to entertain a comeback.

The Beach got within 14 a few times from there, but no closer. The last was on a free throw by Tony Freeland with 6:33 to play.

"They did exactly what you need to do to get back in the game," Arnold said. "But give our guys a lot of credit, they continued to battle, and I thought all of our baskets in the second half were real aggressive."

Standhardinger assisted on a Spearman fast-break three-point play and scored the next four UH points himself to put the game away for good with five minutes to go.

UH avenged a 76-72 defeat at The Pyramid on Jan. 12 to earn a season split with LBSU. It was the third time this season Arnold’s team reached 90 points.

Freeland led four 49ers in double figures with 18 points and seven rebounds.

"That first half was as good a 20 minutes we’ve played this year, since I’ve been here, and in 20 years of coaching one of the top that I’ve been a part of," Arnold said.

Jawato had leg cramps in the second half and did not score in minimal minutes in the period.

Joaquim moved past Anthony Carter and Tom Henderson for 11th on the UH career scoring list at 1,085 points.

A moment of silence was held before the game for Cal State Fullerton women’s basketball assistant coach Monica Quan, who was killed over the weekend in Irvine, Calif.