RIVERSIDE, Calif. >> Hawaii survived the loss of its two most important forwards to earn its first overtime victory of the conference season Saturday night.
Despite Mike Thomas’s injury and Gibson Johnson’s foul problems, the Rainbow Warriors repelled UC Riverside for a 74-69 win in Big West Conference play at Riverside’s SRC Arena, allowing UH to pick up a two-game road trip sweep and surpass last season’s win total.
Sheriff Drammeh scored a career-high 23 points and took a charge with 5.8 seconds left in overtime that provided the game’s turning point. But UH (15-10, 6-6) needed reserve forwards Jack Purchase and Zigmars Raimo to fill the void left by Thomas and Johnson.
The 6-foot-7 Raimo came off the bench to set career standards with 33 minutes and five assists, grabbed five rebounds to match another career best and scored six points.
“Zigmars’ tenacity and physicality don’t always show up in the box score,” UH coach Eran Ganot said. “I know he’s not the tallest, but he’s one of the best on our team in terms of knowing our system on both ends. He made some key plays.”
Purchase — making his first start since the Feb. 7 loss to Riverside, 64-60, at the Stan Sheriff Center — amassed 12 points, 10 rebounds and two steals in a season-high 41 minutes, one fewer than his career best.
“Jack gutted it through,” Ganot said. “He’s gotten so much better in terms of toughness. You’ve got to be tough to make the plays he made late and the shots he made.”
Purchase also proved to be an offensive factor without touching the ball.
“Jack opened things up for us,” Ganot said. “The first time around, we were looking for Jack too much. They were really trying to lock in with Jack. We used him in this game more as a decoy, a guy who really spreads the floor for us.”
With Purchase’s help, the ’Bows managed 16 assists while Drammeh made eight of 10 field-goal attempts, including five of six from 3-point range. UH tied its program record of 14 3s made on 28 attempts.
“I was just getting into my penetration spots and my teammates were just getting me in the right spots at the right time,” Drammeh said. “They’re always finding people in the right spots, so it was my day to be open.”
The ’Bows needed Purchase’s and Raimo’s performances because Johnson fouled out after playing a season-low 10 minutes, and Thomas suffered an undisclosed injury in Thursday night’s 62-61 win at UC Irvine.
“He got hit early,” Ganot said of Thomas, UH’s leading scorer and rebounder. “He felt good after, then he had some issues (that) came up the following day. I can’t go into too much detail. We’ll get more information when we get back.”
UH built a 46-35 lead with 10:55 to play, but the Highlanders (7-19, 2-10) relied on guards Chance Murray and Dikymbe Martin to rally. Martin, a sophomore who missed the Feb. 7 game while serving a suspension, had just nine points after regulation but made all three of his shots beyond the 3-point arc in overtime to finish with 18 points.
Murray, who scored 21 points and tied a UH opponent record with seven steals, led a 7-0 burst that put Riverside ahead 52-51 with 4:55 to play. The senior not only scored all seven points but also made two steals and converted an offensive rebound.
Martin’s 3-point shot with 2:05 left in regulation extended the hosts’ lead to 58-54. But Drew Buggs made two free throws with 1:43 remaining, then Drammeh drove the lane to bank a lay-in off the glass and force a 58-58 tie with 32 seconds to go.
Purchase made his biggest plays late in overtime. With 1:07 left, the 6-foot-9 Australian converted a 3-pointer to break a tie at 66.
With 34 seconds to play, Purchase added another jumper to give the ’Bows a 71-69 lead. With 9.3 seconds to go, he grabbed the rebound of Murray’s missed lay-in, got fouled in the process and extended the lead to 72-69 by making the second of two ensuing free throws in the double bonus.
Then came the play of the game. As Murray drove toward the lane he ran into Drammeh and committed a charging foul with 5.8 seconds left.
“We knew what they were running and we knew that we were switching,” Drammeh said. They were going to screen somebody and try to get an open shot. I was just trying to cut him off real fast and see if he was going to run me over, which he did.”
Drammeh received the inbounds pass, got fouled by Martin with four seconds left and made both foul shots to clinch the win.
Buggs and Brocke Stepteau each contributed 11 points, with Buggs adding seven assists. But the ’Bows committed 18 turnovers, one fewer than their season high.
“You know, we had a stretch were we reverted,” Ganot said. “We were hesitant on shooting and we turned the ball over. But we finished the game well and, for the most part this week, we got to play our style of basketball.”
