Hawaii is back in the Big West fight.

The Rainbow Warriors consumed another team with an insatiable appetite for turnovers in blowing past UC Davis 84-76 on Thursday night at the Stan Sheriff Center.

UH (14-6, 2-2 Big West) had 18 steals and forced 24 turnovers against the first-place team in the league (14-4, 4-1). It outscored the Aggies 38-6 in points off the giveaways and held Big West Player of the Year candidate Corey Hawkins in check.

Coach Benjy Taylor’s feisty group led by double digits for the duration of the second half, and led comfortably down the stretch. But the Aggies trimmed the final margin with 2.4 seconds to play with six straight free throws — four on technical foul shots. The first T came when someone in the crowd of 4,410 threw an object on the court, followed by another whistle on an exasperated Aaron Valdes.

Valdes had an otherwise strong game with 21 points on 8-for-16 shooting, bouncing back from a season-worst two-point performance in a 66-62 loss at UC Riverside last Saturday.

"I just think we gotta keep our composure out there," Valdes said. "Some words were said. But I guess they were frustrated out there with our defense and stuff. We just gotta stay away from it."

Davis coach Jim Les waved his team straight to the locker room without shaking hands afterward, as the rowdy Sheriff crowd booed.

"It happens and it got a little out of control," Les said. "We’re not focusing on that. I’m just glad nobody got hurt. And I told the ref, we weren’t disrespecting their team. I just wanted to get the players off the floor as quickly as possible. Just so there isn’t a crazy incident and we can make sure nobody gets hurt."

Taylor expressed disappointment in how the game concluded. UH and UCD meet again in Davis, Calif., on Feb. 21.

"They just decided to leave," he said calmly of the postgame drama. "It was a hotly contested game. I apologize to them for whatever went wrong on our end. You know, we can’t do that. We have to win with class, too."

Despite that, UH put together perhaps its best two-way effort of the season. The ‘Bows erased an early seven-point deficit and resumed scoring opportunistically out of their 1-2-2 zone pressure, which has become common — with the added bonus of effective execution in the halfcourt this time. They finished shooting 50.8 percent from the field, including 10-for-22 from long range, tying a season best.

"These guys … love the defense, they’re committed to it, and they’re very good in it. I think the biggest jump we made tonight was executing our halfcourt offense … (it was) the best it’s been all year."

Forwards Stefan Jankovic and Mike Thomas combined for 26 points on 8-for-9 shooting. Thomas played effectively off the bench, as did Negus Webster-Chan (eight points), who made his return after missing the UCR game with the flu.

Freshman guard Isaac Fleming had nine points, a season-high six steals, five assists and no turnovers.

But perhaps the most important line came from shooting guard Garrett Nevels, who returned to the starting lineup for his first action of the Big West season coming off right hand surgery. He played with a padded brace but scored nine points on 4-for-5 shooting and was instrumental in limiting Hawkins, who has a history of going off against UH.

"We knew he’s an All-Big West player coming in. He’s torched us a couple times in the past. But I honestly give the credit to G (Nevels)," Valdes said. "G did a great job on him, chasing him off screens, making everything difficult for him. … That’s what we need out of him every night. We’re glad to have him back."

Hawkins, who lit up the Sheriff to the tune of 40 points as a sophomore, was held to 19 points (two below his league-best average) and committed a season-high seven turnovers. UH bothered him with some smart double teams and ball pressure from various angles.

Hawkins exited with a couple minutes to play, though the game wasn’t yet sealed.

Nevels said: "We just came out real hungry. You know, we’re trying to get back to .500. And Saturday we have another big one, so we’re just focusing on that now."

UH continues play against preseason favorite UC Irvine (10-8, 3-1). The Anteaters routed Cal State Northridge 80-49 on the road Thursday without 7-foot-6 center Mamadou N’diaye, who has been in and out of the ‘Eaters lineup with foot problems.

UH trailed by seven points early as Davis shot 56.5 percent in the first half. But midway through the period, the ‘Bows turned up the heat late in the first half, rattling the Aggies with frenetic ball pressure to go from down seven to up 13.

"We’re just going to keep on coming," Nevels said.

HAWAII 84, UC DAVIS 76

Key — min: minutes played; fg-a: field goals made-attempted; ft-a: free throws made-attempted; rb: rebounds; pf: personal fouls; pts: total points.
Halftime — Hawaii 48, UC Davis 37
3-point goals — UC Davis 9-15 (Hawkins 5-8, Graham 1-1, Les 1-1, Johnson 1-2, Ritchart 1-3). Hawaii 10-22 (Valdes 3-6, Jankovic 2-3, Webster-Chan 2-5, Thomas 1-1, Nevels 1-2, Fleming 1-3, Bobbitt 0-2). Steals — UC Davis 2 (Graham, Johnson). Hawaii 18 (Fleming 6, Bobbitt 3, Valdes 2, Smith 2, Webster-Chan 2, Thomas 2, Jovanovic). Turnovers — UC Davis 24 (Hawkins 7, Graham 5, Johnson 4, Ritchart 2, Lemar 2, Adenrele, Les, Fox, Monson).
Hawaii 9 (Bobbitt 2, Smith 2, Webster-Chan 2, Valdes, Jovanovic, Jankovic). Assists — UC Davis 16 (Graham 4, Hawkins 4, Johnson 4, Adenrele, Ritchart, Lemar, Fox). Hawaii 18 (Fleming 5, Bobbitt 4, Jankovic 3, Valdes 2, Webster-Chan 2, Nevels, Thomas). Blocked shots — UC Davis 1 (Adenrele). Hawaii 3 (Thomas 2, Jankovic). Technical fouls — Hawaii (Valdes, team). Officials — Daryl Gelinas, Tom Nally, Juan Corral. A — 4,410.

BIG WEST MEN

THURSDAY
Hawaii 84, UC Davis 76
UC Irvine 80, CSUN 49
Cal Poly 66, Cal State Fullerton 55
UCSB 83, UC Riverside 75

SATURDAY
UC Irvine at Hawaii, 7 p.m. (HST)
Cal State Fullerton at UCSB
Long Beach State at CSUN
UC Riverside at Cal Poly