UC Irvine blows out ‘Bows in second half

IRVINE, Calif. » Stefan Jankovic’s best collegiate performance failed to prevent Hawaii’s second-half collapse Thursday night.

Jankovic established career highs of 18 points and 15 rebounds but the Rainbow Warriors allowed UC Irvine to rally for a 75-60 victory in front of 1,810 at the Bren Events Center.

So with 15 days left in Big West Conference play, competition for the best position in the postseason tournament is becoming intense.

UH (18-10, 6-6), Cal Poly and UC Riverside all share fifth place, half a game behind UC Santa Barbara and one game behind third-place Long Beach State.

The Rainbows will need Jankovic to maintain his recent improvement in their quest. In his past three games, the redshirt sophomore is averaging 14.0 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.7 blocks. Jankovic tied his career best with three blocks against Irvine (15-10, 8-3).

"I never blocked shots before. I never really grabbed rebounds, never posted up," said the 6-foot-11 Jankovic, who attributed his recent performances to improved concentration.

"Coaches and players have gotten on me," the Serbian said. "The hit on me was I was soft. My talent will only take me so far, so I’ve learned to play hard on every possession."

That commitment paid dividends at the Plexiglas.

"I told myself before the game, ‘I’m going to crash every single time,’" Jankovic said. "I just want to change people’s perceptions of me."

Aaron Valdes and Mike Thomas returned to action after suffering sprained ankles. Valdes, who missed last Saturday’s game against Cal State Fullerton, finished with eight points and five rebounds in 26 minutes.

"I thought he looked tired," UH coach Benjy Taylor said. "But as far as his cutting and his ankle being in good shape, I thought he was fine."

Thomas played eight minutes off the bench and "looked good," Taylor said. But Isaac Fleming did not dress for the game and Taylor said he would not play Saturday night against UC Davis.

Irvine also played without two regulars. Alex Young missed his third consecutive game with an injured left foot, and 6-foot-10 center John Ryan did not play after injuring his right foot in Saturday night’s loss at UC Riverside.

UH held a 27-20 lead with 2:54 left in the first half but the Anteaters used a 9-2 blitz to tie the score at 29 on Travis Souza’s 3-point shot 54.5 seconds before halftime.

The hosts began the second half by making five of their first six shots. The Warriors, meanwhile, missed five of their first six as Irvine moved ahead 41-35 with 16:07 to play.

Garrett Nevels and Negus Webster-Chan made successive 3-point shots in a 53-second span to forge a 41-41 tie with 14:46 left. But UH missed 18 of its final 24 field-goal attempts and went almost 10 minutes without scoring a basket.

Souza and Will Davis II led Irvine’s recovery. Souza scored 12 of his 15 points in the second half by converting four of five shots from 3-point range. Davis added 13 points and 12 rebounds in the half to finish with 23 points and 14 rebounds.

"They made some threes and we panicked," Taylor said. "We started flying at them and we flew by them. Our rotation got a little slow and when we got spread, Davis went to work on the inside."

Irvine made seven of 10 shots beyond the arc while shooting 54.8 percent in the second half. But UH missed 24 of 33 shots in that half.

"It wasn’t anything they were doing," Jankovic said. "Honestly, we played a poor half. The effort wasn’t there. The execution wasn’t there, offensively or defensively."