RIVERSIDE, Calif. » Christian Standhardinger and Isaac Fotu complemented each other in Hawaii’s latest victory, though in unexpected fashion.

With UC Riverside’s defense smothering Fotu on Thursday night, Standhardinger amassed 27 points — four fewer than his career best — in the Rainbow Warriors’ 87-76 victory at the Student Recreation Center.

By earning its sixth win in eight games, UH (17-7, 6-4) not only equaled last season’s victory total but also moved into a tie for third place in the Big West Conference with Long Beach State. The Warriors and 49ers trail UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara, which share first place, by a game and a half.

Standhardinger made nine of 19 shots and grabbed 13 rebounds, one shy of his season high. Fotu, meanwhile, managed just eight points and two rebounds against Riverside’s double-teaming defense after averaging 21 points in his past three games.

"You’ve got to pick your poison," UH coach Gib Arnold said. "They double-down on Fotu and Christian goes off. I’m pretty fortunate that I’ve got more than one guy."

Standhardinger elaborated.

"It is easier for me to score when they’re worried about Fotu because Fotu is a heck of a player," he said. "It’s a little easier for me to play against a double team because I can still penetrate from outside, which is more my game."

Standhardinger scored 12 points in the first half, six of them in a 10-0 spurt that extended UH’s lead to 27-16 with 7:56 left. The 6-foot-8 forward added five rebounds and an assist during that spree.

But the Highlanders (8-16, 3-7) kept fighting to decrease the tempo so they could exploit their height. Riverside forced four turnovers in the final seven minutes of the first half and held the Warriors to one point in the final 5:05.

Many times, the Warriors appeared confused about positioning on the court.

"We were changing defenses a lot," Arnold said. "We were using four different defenses. Sometimes when you do that, especially on the road, you have a few miscues."

Riverside narrowed its deficit to 40-37 with 17:21 to play. But Garrett Nevels culminated a 6-0 surge with a 3-point basket that gave UH a 46-37 lead with 15:47 remaining.

UH led by as many as 18 points and shot 53.7 percent while holding the Highlanders to 42.2 percent.

"I’ll take that any day," Arnold said about the favorable disparity in shooting. "That means we were able to run about 60 percent of the time."

Nevels converted seven of 11 shots to finish with 20 points. Keith Shamburger and Brandon Spearman each added 11 points, with Shamburger passing for 10 assists.

Arnold expects the ‘Bows’ 3-point shooting to improve if more teams focus on defending Fotu. UH made 46.7 percent (7-for-15) of its shots from 3-point range.

"They made it real tight on him," Arnold said about the Highlanders. "I think we’re going to see a lot of that and I think our 3-point shooting will rise because of that. That will give us really nice looks."

Chris Patton, Riverside’s 6-foot-10 Australian center, scored a team-high 21 points. Taylor Johns added 19 points, nine rebounds and a career-best six blocks.

BIG WEST MEN

Thursday
Hawaii 87, UC Riverside 76
Cal Poly 62, CS Northridge 55
UCSB 65, Long Beach State 64
CS Fullerton 74, UC Davis 64

Saturday
Hawaii at CS Fullerton, 4 p.m.
CS Northridge at UC Santa Barbara
UC Riverside at UC Irvine
Cal Poly at Long Beach State

HAWAII 87, UC RIVERSIDE 76

RAINBOW WARRIORS (17-7, 6-4 BWC)

HIGHLANDERS (8-16, 3-7 BWC)