NORTHRIDGE, Calif. » A furious rally in the final nine minutes failed to produce Hawaii’s first victory in Big West Conference play this season.

Christian Standhardinger’s 16-foot jumper with 1.9 seconds to play fell short, and Cal State Northridge escaped its Matadome with a 79-78 men’s basketball victory Saturday night.

Had Standhardinger made that shot, the Rainbow Warriors (11-5, 0-2) would have nullified a 13-point deficit that the Matadors (10-7, 2-0) built with nine minutes remaining.

"Momentum is a beautiful thing," UH coach Gib Arnold said. "We put ourselves in position to win, and we had five shots to beat them. It was a great finish by our guys."

The Rainbows, who held a 9-point lead in the first half, missed 11 of their first 18 shots in the second half, Northridge, meanwhile, converted 11 of its first 18 field-goal attempts to create a 70-57 advantage with 8:58 to play.

Stephen Maxwell, who finished with a game-high 24 points, scored 14 in the first 7 minutes, 37 seconds of the second half.

But UH relied on its defense to recover. The Rainbows forced six turnovers in the final eight minutes — five of them on steals. For the game, UH made 10 steals and scored 20 points off turnovers.

"I think they were playing not to lose," Arnold said of the Matadors. "When we saw that, we knew we could be a lot more aggressive. We went to our trapping defense, and it got us going."

Garrett Nevels benefited offensively. The junior transfer scored 10 of his team-high 19 points in the final 7:49.

"We just tried to pressure them," Nevels said, "and make them play fast."

After Keith Shamburger’s 3-point basket narrowed the margin to one point with 1:53 to play, the Warriors had several chances to win.

Fotu made a steal 18 seconds later, but on the resulting possession Shamburger’s attempted 3-pointer hit the rim with 1:22 left. However, Dyrbe Enos grabbed the rebound, and Arnold called a timeout with 1:17 to play.

Brandon Spearman went to the free-throw line with 52.8 seconds left, but missed the first shot in the bonus situation. Fotu secured the rebound, but Shamburger missed an underhand lay-in attempt with 24 seconds to go.

UH had one more opportunity after Fotu rebounded Shamburger’s shot. Standhardinger drove the lane and fired a one-handed jumper with 1.9 seconds to play that fell short.

The Rainbows’ performance provided a positive contrast from their 77-65 loss at Cal Poly on Thursday night.

"We came out a lot stronger," Arnold said. "I thought we were playing real aggressive early. Maybe we just got our legs after being here a little longer."

UH led 30-21 with 6:52 left in the first half. But the Warriors would not score for the next 3:11, as Northridge forged a 30-30 tie with 4:12 before halftime.

Spearman’s follow shot with 20 seconds to go in the half put UH ahead 39-37. But Enos fouled Aaron Parks on a 3-point attempt, and Parks made all three free throws with four-tenths of a second remaining to give Northridge a 40-39 halftime lead.

Standhardinger finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Fotu added 16 points and 11 rebounds, and Spearman contributed 15 points.

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

Halftime —  Cal State Northridge 40, Hawaii 39
3-points goals — Hawaii 7-23 (Nevels 2-5, Spearman 2-5, Standhardinger 1-2, Enos 1-2, Shamburger 1-8). CS Northridge 5-11 (Parks 3-3, Greene 2-7, Vozzola 0-1). Steals — Hawaii 10 (Standhardinger 2, Fotu 2, Shamburger 2, Nevels 2, Smith 2). CS Northridge 7 (Hale-Edmerson 3, Parks 2, Greene, Drew). Blocked shots — Hawaii 3 (Fotu, Nevels, Rozitis). CS Northridge 3 (Hale-Edmerson 2, Greene). Officials — Richard Cartmel, Curt Walker, Tom Nally. A — 1,060.