’Bows seeking another bounce-back win

The response to defeat has been consistently good for the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors.

It’ll have to be great if UH is to keep its signature 2017-18 statistic squeaky clean at UC Santa Barbara today.

Following a loss with a win has been a staple of the ’Bows under Eran Ganot, especially this season; UH is 5-0 with a winning margin of 14.8 in the ensuing game of a setback.

But UH (13-6, 4-2 Big West) — which dropped a 69-66 decision to Cal State Fullerton on Saturday thanks to Kyle Allman’s 40-point onslaught — encounters a UCSB team that’s come back with a vengeance. The Gauchos (16-5, 5-2) have won four straight since dropping a 77-76 decision to UH in Honolulu on Jan. 13.

“It’s the second time around on their home floor. They haven’t lost since that game, so they’ve responded well,” Ganot said. “It’s a team that will be in contention, and a team that will be ready. It’s going to be a challenge, a battle.”

UCSB is a perfect 9-0 at the Thunderdome this season, with its most notable win coming over San Diego in nonconference play. The ’Bows are 2-3 in the 5,600-seat venue as a Big West member, and stumbled there in a winnable game last February.

The Gauchos have more than doubled last year’s win total under first-year coach Joe Pasternack. Their recent success includes a home-and-home sweep of Fullerton. UH, meanwhile, hasn’t been on the road in a month.

The schedule ramps up beginning with this two-game trip through Cal Poly on Saturday. After enjoying two straight single-game weeks at home, UH has five straight double-game weeks going into the Big West tournament.

Its best shooting performance of the season (55.1 percent) was just enough to top potent UCSB last time.

UCSB was down 16 points in the second half and nearly rallied all the way back behind an explosive second half by Max Heidegger, the Big West’s leading scorer who put in 19 of his 22 points in the period.

UCSB relies on its starters — Heidegger, Marcus Jackson, Gabe Vincent, Jalen Canty and Leland King II — more than any other Big West team, often playing each upward of 35 minutes a game. King remains the BWC’s top rebounder (10.5) while Canty (7.7) is third.

UH will look to make them work defensively, ideally wearing them down with ball movement and foul trouble. Pasternack said his team would have to stay disciplined to the end of the shot clock against UH’s execution.

“This week we’re going to try to really play our bench more,” Pasternack said. “I think it’s important in the month of February. And we’re really going to see to that and add guys to the rotation.”

The Gauchos’ push coincided with the exit of Brocke Stepteau (9.9 points per game) from the game with a middle finger injury on his right (shooting) hand. Stepteau returned and helped his team close out the game, but missed the two games since recovering from a procedure. He was expected to play against Fullerton but was a gameday scratch.

Ganot said Stepteau was still in “day-to-day mode” prior to departing for California’s central coast.

Drew Buggs has tried to pick up the slack. The freshman point guard leads the league in assists (5.3) and steals (2.2) in league games. He needs eight more steals to match Chris Gaines’ season-record 38 for a UH freshman.

Buggs was still smarting at practice Monday from the Fullerton loss; he called it “upsetting.” Buggs missed on a chance to tie at the line with 12.1 seconds left, then on a contested 3 at the horn. It was his team’s lowest-scoring second half of the season, 25 points.

Now UH will contend with another dangerous perimeter threat in Heidegger (21.0 ppg).

“Both those guys (Allman and Heidegger), you gotta cover them for the full game,” Buggs said. “The last time we did a really good job on Heidegger, he kind of got loose at the end of the game. Now we just know we gotta stay locked in for the full 40 minutes, and I believe we can do that.”

UH’s Mike Thomas (13.1 ppg), the most efficient shooter in the league, is averaging 16.5 on 77.1 percent shooting in BWC games.