‘Bows’ rally falls short

Every time UC Irvine needed a big basket, the Anteaters scrounged one up.

Hawaii was turned away several times in the second half as Irvine, the defending Big West regular-season champion, held on for a 78-72 victory on Saturday night at the Stan Sheriff Center.

With the loss, UH (14-7, 2-3 BWC) drops behind the leading pack of Irvine (11-8, 4-1), UC Davis and Long Beach State heading into a difficult stretch of four straight on the road.

A raucous season-high crowd of 7,465 saw the ‘Bows cut a 13-point second-half deficit to 71-70 on a corner 3 by Aaron Valdes with 1:39 left, but UH got no closer, as Alex Young answered with a 3 and the hosts managed only two free throws from Stefan Jankovic from there.

Championship mettle was on display late from Irvine, which played without 7-foot-6 defensive anchor Mamadou Ndiaye. Conversely, UH seemed rattled by some early foul trouble.

"You’re talking about a team that won the regular season last year, and (was) picked to win it this year," UH coach Benjy Taylor said. "I’m not going to say they’re the best team in the league, but they’re good. Awfully good and awfully experienced."

UCI still had plenty of size to go around, and its guard play was at times impeccable. The Anteaters were occasionally victimized by UH’s ball pressure, but did not allow the problem to compound, unlike UC Davis on Thursday.

The ‘Eaters shot 51.9 percent from the field to 32.9 percent for UH, including a 10-for-15 shooting display from long range.

"I think we let their shooters get too comfortable," point guard Roderick Bobbitt said. "They hit a lot of open 3s. We had our hands down. That was huge."

UCI pushed its winning streak to four and made it two straight in Honolulu. It won at the Sheriff in overtime last season.

"Clearly we looked like a veteran team, which we are," Irvine coach Russell Turner said. "I’m pleased with the number of guys who made really important contributions tonight throughout our roster. We had guys in a big-time environment make game-winning type plays."

Five Rainbows scored in double figures. Isaac Fleming scored 14 off the bench, Garrett Nevels had 13 points and a career-high-tying nine rebounds, and Jankovic and Negus Webster-Chan had 11 points apiece.

Bobbitt called his own number more than usual, with Valdes among those hampered by foul trouble and had 10 points on 11 field-goal attempts, with four assists and five steals.

After Jankovic’s free throws on a putback attempt cut it to 74-72, UH needed a critical stop. But senior forward Will Davis II (game-high 17 points) slipped a screen and scored on an open layup with 41.7 seconds to go.

UH attempted to respond in kind, but did not execute what was drawn up coming out of a timeout. On UH’s last-gasp possession to stay in it down four, Jankovic attempted an NBA-range 3 and came up short. He fouled out, stopping the clock, and Young made both foul shots to essentially seal it, up six with 25 seconds left.

"I was looking for Aaron wide open in the corner and he was, but (Jankovic) didn’t make the extra pass," Taylor said.

Valdes continued his hot-and-cold swings between games. He scored an efficient 21 points in the eight-point win over Davis, but he was hampered by three first-half fouls and finished with six points on 1-for-8 shooting. Jankovic and Mike Thomas also had three before halftime.

UH won the rebounding battle for the first time in five Big West games and forced its usual complement of turnovers (17). But the ‘Bows just couldn’t seem to buy a basket, especially in the first half, when they shot 25 percent. UH opened the game shooting 4-for-24.

UH hung around thanks to 15 offensive rebounds in the period. But Irvine guard Jaron Martin hit two 3s in the final minute to give the visitors an eight-point lead at the break. The lead grew to 63-50 in the second half before UH made a charge, energized by a John Ryan flagrant foul on Valdes.

"We had 15 offensive rebounds (in the first half) and we couldn’t put the ball in the hole," Taylor said. "We missed eight layups, I think. They were putbacks and point-blank-range layups. … It changed the complexion of the game."

Meanwhile, anytime Irvine needed to stem a UH run, it seemingly conjured up a wide-open 3.

"We’ve got a bunch of guys who can really shoot the ball," Turner said. "The key for us as a 3-point-shooting team is to take good shots. I think we did that. We had good shots from good shooters and you end up with a percentage like that. It’s surprising to see 10 out of 15 go in in some ways, but that sometimes happens when you take good shots."

Taylor credited the Anteaters for beating UH’s fullcourt pressure without being too aggressive against it and getting out of sync.

"We just gotta put this game behind us and focus on our next four on the road," Bobbitt said. "It’s going to be tough, but we’ll come together. we’ll be fine."

Halftime — UC Irvine 42, Hawaii 34

3-point goals — UC Irvine 10-15 (Martin 3-3, Young 3-4, Nelson 3-5, Dunning 1-1, Souza 0-2). Hawaii 9-27 (Webster-Chan 3-7, Fleming 2-5, Bobbitt 2-7, Nevels 1-2, Valdes 1-3, Jankovic 0-3). Steals — UC Irvine 3 (Young 2, Ryan). Hawaii 11 (Bobbitt 5, Valdes 2, Webster-Chan 2, Nevels, Jankogic). Turnovers — UC Irvine 17 (Nelson 4, Souza 3, Young 2, Ryan 2, Wright 2, Davis II, Martin, Dimakopoulos, Dunning). 

Hawaii 10 (Valdes 3, Webster-Chan 2, Thomas 2, Bobbitt, Fleming, TEAM). Assists — UC Irvine 16 (Nelson 5, Wright 3, Young 3, Souza 2, Dunning 2, Martin). Hawaii 11 (Bobbitt 4, Nevels 2, Webster-Chan 2, Jankovic, Fleming, Smith). Blocked shots — UC Irvine 5 (Ryan 2, Young, Davis II, Dimakopoulos). Hawaii 6 (Jankovic 2, Nevels, Jovanovic, Fleming, Thomas). Technical fouls — UC Irvine none. Hawaii none. Officials — Daryl Gelinas, Tom Nally, Juan Corral. A — 7,465.

Saturday

UC Irvine 78, Hawaii 72

UCSB 68, Cal State Fullerton 49

Long Beach State 64, CSUN 58

Cal Poly 68, UC Riverside 49

Thursday

Hawaii at CSUN, 5 p.m.

UCSB at UC Davis

Cal Poly at UC Irvine

Long Beach State at CS Fullerton