Hawaii begins league play by bucking history

With the clock down to the final six seconds Wednesday night Hawaii guard Isaac Fleming lofted in a shot from 22 feet in the right corner.

What made this noteworthy in the lopsided series that has been Hawaii and Cal Poly in men’s basketball is that it was an exclamation point, not a desperation shot.

It was a symbolic back-at-you to the other team in green, not a prayer.

The Rainbow Warriors’ 86-73 Big West Conference-opening victory had been assured long before Fleming took aim and teammates on the bench behind him pumped their fists in exultation but this had the feel of an exorcism. Or, at least the beginnings of one.

It was merely the first of 16 conference games to be played over the next two months, of course, but it was nevertheless a game of import for the Rainbow Warriors who started their last two Big West seasons 0-1 courtesy of the the same Mustangs and were clearly determined not to repeat history.

If you want to see where the ’Bows have historically fallen behind in the Big West race and understand part of why UH has yet to finish above fourth place in three previous conference seasons, the struggles against Cal Poly are a good place to begin.

From season’s opening to conclusion, no opponent in the nine-member Big West has tormented the ‘Bows — home or away — more than the team from San Luis Obispo, Calif.

In eight games against Joe Callero’s usually parsimonious teams the ‘Bows had managed to win just two and neither of them by a glossy double-figure margin.

So putting up 86 points — the most scored by UH against the Mustangs in a conference game — was a notable feat in rookie head coach Eran Ganot’s Big West debut. All the more so since none of Ganot’s predecessors — Bob Nash, Gib Arnold and Benjy Taylor — have managed more than one victory against Callero, perhaps the coach who does the most with his resources in this low-major league.

The ’Bows’ 12th victory against two losses would not come easy, of course, but when it did it was largely accomplished at the free throw line and on the boards.

UH made good on a whopping 34 of 42 free throws, an eye-opening 81 percent for a team that has been managing just a 64 percent clip. That’s something their Big West hopes will hinge heavily on this season, especially when they finally venture out on the road after Saturday’s game against UC Santa Barbara, the 10th game of this homestand.

UH out-rebounded the Mustangs 40-28 with Stefan Jankovic and Mike Thomas, who managed 13 rebounds each, pulling down nearly as many as the Cal Poly team.

It was a night that demonstrated the wide possibilities this season can hold for the ’Bows.

Things might be different come next month when UH wades into the cracker box that is Cal Poly’s Mott Gymnasium, but for openers it was, right down to Fleming’s jumper, a statement-making victory the ’Bows needed.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.