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The Hawaii men’s basketball team committed a season-low seven turnovers and got big performances from its big men in a 78-72 win over UC Irvine tonight at the Stan Sheriff Center.
UH tied its longest winning streak under third-year coach Gib Arnold at five games, and claimed sole possession of second place in the Big West with the victory.
UH (15-9, 9-4) went from down seven to up seven during a seven-minute scoring drought by the Anteaters in the second half, and held on from there.
The ‘Bows went 11-for-12 from the free-throw line once the Anteaters (12-13, 6-6) went to fouling.
Senior center Vander Joaquim had his ninth double-double of the season with 15 pionts and 10 rebounds. Junior forward Christian Standhardinger had 20 points and nine rebounds. Senior wing Hauns Brereton went 12-for-12 from the free-throw line to help seal the win. Freshman forward Isaac Fotu added 11 points and six rebounds off the bench.
UCI led by seven points with 16:45 to play, but Joaquim sparked an 14-0 UH run with an inside basket, a block on Will Davis II’s dunk attempt, and a top-arc 3-pointer.
A three-point play by Standhardinger off an inbounds pass make it 60-52 with 6:27 left.
Daman Starring (18 points) hit a 3 pull the ‘Eaters within 65-61 with 2:48 to go, but that would be as close as it got down the stretch.
UH took a 27-18 lead on a top-arc 3 by Brandon Jawato with 7:12 left in the first half.
But UCI came right back with 3 by Starring. That kicked off a 16-4 run to end the first half, capped off with an Adam Folker second-chance hook shot at the buzzer.
