Big 3 of Jankovic, Bobbitt, Valdes lead ‘Bows into final

ANAHEIM, CALIF. >> All they wanted was another shot.

The Hawaii Rainbow Warriors earned it on Friday with an 88-76 victory over UC Santa Barbara, placing them 40 minutes away from a Big West tournament championship and an NCAA Tournament berth.

Forty minutes from erasing the heartbreak of 2015, when they were denied in the title game by UC Irvine.

“We’re ready for the championship. This is what we’ve been waiting for all year,” said forward Stefan Jankovic, the Big West Player of the Year who led the way against the Gauchos with 24 points.

The obstacle this time? Long Beach State, the third seed that swept UH home-and-home during the regular season, including a two-point victory immediately preceding the conference tournament. The ESPN2-televised championship tips off at 6:30 p.m.

LBSU edged Irvine 77-72 in Friday’s nightcap at the Honda Center behind six players in double-figure scoring.

Roderick Bobbitt added 21 and wing Aaron Valdes 19. UH’s Big Three combined for 64 points and shot 21-for-38 from the field.

All three were present for last year’s 67-58 season-ending loss.

“These guys have fought long and hard to get back here,” UH coach Eran Ganot said. “Very happy for them right now, and obviously we’ve got to enjoy it for a second and get ready for a big one.”

UH became the first top seed to reach the Big West title game since LBSU in 2012. It was a 5-seed last year.

“This is a tight group. We’ve all been here for two or three years now,” Valdes said. “We don’t want this to end. We feel like we’re the best team in this conference. That’s been our goal from Day 1.

“Making the championship game, I just think we have unfinished business.”

UCSB (18-13) saw its nine-game winning streak snapped, in large part due to a 21-3 UH run to open the second half, electrifying about 500 UH fans in the building.

“I told the team afterwards, whatever I said at halftime, whatever it was, it was wrong,” UCSB coach Bob Williams said. “Because the way they came out and played the first seven, eight minutes of that second half, Hawaii’s shots they hit, the energy they played with, they dismantled us. And a lot of credit goes to them.”

The Gauchos lost all three games against UH this season. First-team wing Michael Bryson had 22 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Gauchos, while Gabe Vincent added 17.

The Rainbows shot 52 percent from the field and converted 27 of 37 free-throw attempts to stave off UCSB’s second-half comeback bid.

Valdes had 10 rebounds and seven assists. Bobbitt had six boards, five assists and four turnovers. The point guard’s four steals boosted his UH career record to 167.

Bryson tied it up on a 3 just before halftime, but Bobbitt answered with a deep 3 of his own to beat the buzzer for a 37-34 halftime lead.

“That was a big shift in the game,” the point guard said.

UH kept it going on the other side. Bobbitt nailed three more 3s during the huge spurt.

“One of the key plays of the game was Rod hit a big 3 to close the half,” Ganot said. “For the second game in a row, these guys imposed their will defensively and on the glass in the second half, and put us in this position today.”

The Gauchos went to desperation trapping and got a 21-point deficit down to nine late in the game.

Jankovic had a dunk and another basket inside to stave off the rally.

“Once we got the initial pressure, it was just basically finding the open man,” Jankovic said. “I was playing down low, so I just had to finish.”

UCSB’s chances were hurt by 16-for-27 free-throw shooting, while it allowed UH to shoot 9-for-21 (42.9 percent) on 3-pointers.

“(Hawaii presents) bad matchups for us, and especially when they shoot the ball the way they shot the ball tonight,” Williams said.

Starting guard Quincy Smith left the game in the first half with an apparent hip injury. He did not return.

A UH spokesperson called him a “game-time decision” for the championship.

“Guys were fired up for him,” Ganot said. “I think guys really elevated their games for him, and that’s what this group’s done all year. So really proud of him and the guys.”

Freshman Sheriff Drammeh came out to start the second half for Smith, scoring five points in 29 minutes of pressure basketball.

“Sheriff did a great job out there, being composed, for a freshman, taking care of the ball, making good passes,” Valdes said. “So credit to ’Riff for giving us big minutes out there.”

UH hasn’t been to the Big Dance since 2002, when it won the WAC tournament. UH can match that team for the program record for wins (27) with a victory today.

Had Valdes made the second of two free throws with 36 seconds left, UH would’ve had three 20-point scorers in a game for the first time since Dec. 20, 2006, against San Francisco.

HAWAII 88, UC SANTA BARBARA 76

Key — fg-a: field goals made-attempted; ft-a: free throws made-attempted; r: rebounds; pf: personal fouls; pts: total points; a: assists; to: turnovers; min: minutes played.

Halftime — Hawaii 37, UC Santa Barbara 34

3-point goals — UC Santa Barbara 8-27 (Hart 3-3, Bryson 3-3, Childress 1-3, Vincent 1-8, Brewe 0-1, Green 0-2, Taylor 0-3). Hawaii 9-21 (Bobbitt 4-7, Jankovic 3-5, Valdes 1-4, Tummala 1-5). Steals — UC Santa Barbara 8 (Childress 6, Bryson, Smith). Hawaii 10 (Bobbitt 4, Smith 3, Valdes, Drammeh, Jankovic). Blocked shots — UC Santa Barbara 2 (Bryson, Hart). Hawaii 2 (Bobbitt, Jovanovic). Turnovers — UC Santa Barbara 13 (Childress 5, Vincent 4, Beeler 2, Bryson, Green). Hawaii 13 (Jankovic 4, Bobbitt 4, Valdes 3, Drammeh 2). Technical fouls — none. Officials — Daryl Gelinas, Bill Vinovich, Jeff Wooten. A — N/A.