CSUN extends UH’s basketball woes

The Hawaii basketball team reached another low, losing 77-71 to Cal State Northridge tonight at the Stan Sheriff Center.

UH (13-10, 4-6 BWC) lost its fifth straight game, including a third to a team in the bottom half of the Big West standings, before a crowd of 4,061. CSUN (6-19, 3-8) snapped a five-game losing streak after UC Riverside ended a 10-game slide at UH’s expense on Wednesday.

The only Big West team without a conference win at the Sheriff shot a sizzling 65.1 percent to end that distinction. The Matadors’ Tavrion Dawson and Micheal Warren combined for 44 points on 17-for-25 shooting.

The Rainbows got a season-high-tying 17 points from point guard Drew Buggs, while forward Mike thomas added 14.

UH trailed by six at halftime despite shooting 64.7 percent in the first half; it committed all but one of its 12 turnovers in the period.

CSUN used a 9-0 run late in the first half to take an eight-point lead. UH got the last basket of the half, a Jack Purchase elbow jumper, but still trailed 37-31 at intermission.

UH got within three early in the second half but Tavrion Dawson sank three straight buckets to extend that back to 48-39 with about 14 minutes to play.

Buggs ended that with his third 3 of the night.

CSUN made five straight shots, capped by a layup, to go up double digits for the first time with under nine minutes remaining.

Sheriff Drammeh fouled Warren on a corner 3 with 4:11 left. He made all three for a 14-point lead and fans started streaming for the exits not long afterward. The margin reached 16 before UH’s reserves closed the gap in garbage time.