‘Bows win Big West regular-season title
TONY AVELAR / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER
Hawaii forward Michael Thomas, left, Stefan Jankovic, center, and Stefan Jovanovic (15) celebrate the 67-65 victory against UC Davis in an NCAA basketball game Thursday.
DAVIS, CALIF. >> The Hawaii basketball team earned a share of the Big West regular-season title and clinched the No. 1 seed for next week’s Big West tournament with a heart-stopping 67-65 win at UC Davis tonight.
Point guard Roderick Bobbitt made the second of two free throws with four seconds left for a two-point lead, and Aggies guard Darius Graham had a potential pull-up game-winning 3 rattle out at the buzzer.
UH (24-4, 13-2 Big West) remained perfect on the Big West road at 7-0 heading into Saturday’s regular-season finale at Long Beach State.
“That feels great,” guard Quincy Smith said. “That’s what we’ve been working for the whole summer, to get it done the first game (this week), that’s great. We’ve still got more work to do at Long Beach, but tonight it feels good.”
The Rainbow Warriors trailed most of the game but went ahead late, 63-62, on Stefan Jankovic’s three-point play with 1:24 to play.
“Just continue to fight and believe and weather the storm,” UH coach Eran Ganot said. “Don’t forget, we were down 11-zip, and had Janks and Bobbitt with two fouls. It’s a great testament to our bench and our guys who were in without foul trouble to hang in there and hang in there.”
Aaron Valdes followed with a steal and pass ahead to Bobbitt for a dunk and a three-point lead.
Bobbitt made one of two at the line for a four-point advantage with 16.2 seconds to play.
Davis’ Siler Schneider hit a 3 to keep the hosts in it, but UH was able to get the ball back to Bobbitt on an inbounds pass and he was fouled and put in UH’s final point.
Smith scored a team-high 15 points for UH, which trailed by 11 at halftime. Sai Tummala added 14 points and Bobbitt 11.
“We’re a resilient team,” Tummala said. “We were down the whole game (but) we weren’t going to lose.”
Forward Josh Fox scored a game-high 19 points for Davis (10-18, 5-10).
24 responses to “‘Bows win Big West regular-season title”
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I hope this puts an end to all the negative dodos blasting the team, the coach,etc.. I don’t care who you played if you can go 7-0 on the road and pull out amazing wins under pressure to win the conference title.
Absolutely agree! This team can finish not like last year’s. Both players and coaches are doing well. Got the bad vibes off the team which is good Feng Shui.
Darn good for a first year coach. Matlin got it right.
Go rainbow Warriors!
Go Bow’s! What a season so far.
By the way, Quincy showed why UH don’t need flaming Fleming.
Amen to that!!
Add additional two guards who are waiting in the wings come next season.
Whew – that was close; a really poor start, playing catch-up the whole way, Janks & Bobbitt with 4 fouls apiece. You’ve got to gives the Bows their credit! When it’s crunch time, they get their act & composure together and pull away. No let down against LBS, payback on the Road for a bad loss in Honolulu to cap a great season into the BW Tournament! Go Bows!
Agree.
Down 11 to 13 most of the game; what a show of confidence even with Bobbitt and Jankovic on the bench with the usual home town calls.
Unreal. Hat’s off to the team and coaches. best for the rest of season.
Again, Tummala came through with his 3’s. Tanks big guy.
Congrats to the Bow Warrior Basketball team!!! Once again they come with clutch plays to secure another last minute Victory on the road. THIS TEAM HAS A HUGE HEART TO WIN, making HAWAII PROUD!!!
Shaka Bows!
It’s sad how there are certain people not posting here that are only heard when UH loses or a player quits, gets suspended, etc. Always wanting to pounce on the negative and never giving UH its due when they do well. Good job UH and Coach Ganot. Whatever happens the rest of the way, it’s been an exciting season and I think there is a lot to look forward to in the future years even with probation hanging over their head.
Yup, and led by Lewis of SA who, for reasons unknown, has a vindictive streak against Ganot. The BS he wrote in his last article is ALL biased personal attacks. The old f…t needs to apologize to the team and Ganot and hopefully retire.
Considering UC Davis lost a game vs Irvine they should have won, this victory is huge! Congratulations Bows! Such a dramatic season with many reasons to fold and quit, this team pulled together and played like a team. All involved deserve credit! Go Bows!
While there were no gaudy Big West Player of the Week type stats put up by any UH player in this game–I gotta agree that it was a great team effort by all who played. Every starter played their role by leading the team in a different category: Smith with 15 points, Thomas with 9 rebounds, Valdes with 3 steals, Bobbitt with 5 assists and Jankovic with 2 blocked shots. Even the bench contributed to this win: Tummala with 15 points and Jovanovic with 7 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block. Go ‘Bows!
….all in with Coach Ganot… A very good win….
Valdes’ steal and assist late in the game giving the ‘Bows a 3 point lead–the play of the year. Its more than scoring points for Valdes. Go ‘Bows
Terrific win considering the slow start and playing catch up. This team has so much composure and I give our coaches a lot of credit to keep all these personalities moving in the right direction. I hope our juniors decide to stay because of their love for Hawaii and commitment.
I must say that this team is very resilient.
BElLIEVE.
This is real.
7-0 in conference games away from the Sheriff Arena is unchartered territory for UH teams. This group is well-prepared and mentally tough. Earning a berth in the NIT is huge, but this team has its eyes on a bigger prize. Enjoy the ride.