The last time Hawaii and Cal State Fullerton met in a men’s basketball game, the Pali Highway was fully functional and “hammajang” was not an entry in the Oxford English Dictionary.
Those two teams that met in the Jan. 9 Big West opener will end their regular season today in Titan Gymnasium on the CSUF campus.
The 59-day gap “would be strange if that wasn’t kind of the norm in our league over the past couple years,” UH coach Eran Ganot said. “You’re a little bit more used to it. I don’t know if we’ve seen it to the extent where you can play a team the first game of the year and not again until the last game of the year. That’s extreme.”
Today’s game can impact the standings but not the Big West tournament schedule. The Rainbow Warriors can finish in a tie for third but are locked in as the No. 4 seed in next week’s tournament at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. The ’Bows will play fifth-seeded Long Beach State in the final quarterfinal game (5:30 p.m. Thursday).
BIG WEST BASKETBALL
>> Who: Hawaii at Cal State Fullerton
>> When: 5 p.m. today
>> Where: Titan Gymnasium, Fullerton, Calif.
>> TV: None
>> Radio: 1420-AM
>> Streaming: ESPN3
Thursday’s comeback victory over UC Davis improved the Rainbow Warriors to 8-7 in league play. The ’Bows, who are assured a non-losing season, are in fourth place, just behind UC Santa Barbara (9-6) but above Long Beach State (8-8), UC Davis (7-8) and Cal State Northridge (7-8). The ’Bows can tie Santa Barbara for third, but the Gauchos would have the seeding advantage based on sweeping the home-and-home series. The ’Bows swept Long Beach State and Davis and split with CSUN.
“It’s going to be different,” UH guard Drew Buggs said of facing the Titans. “We haven’t played them in a while. We still have a good feel for them, but we know they’re going to be a different team from the first time around. It’s going to be a battle.”
The Titans have the league’s most prolific backcourt in Kyle Allman (18.1 points per game) and Khalil Ahmad (18.0). Post player Jackson Rowe is averaging 8.1 rebounds per game, and Austen Awosika is the Titans’ top passer (3.8 assists).
“They’ve played very well,” Ganot said of the Titans. “We knew that. They’re the returning (Big West) tournament champs. And they return four starters. We’re coming off a gritty game Thursday, and they’ve had the week off. There are a lot of challenges and opportunities.”
The ’Bows are seeking their first winning Big West season since 2016, when they finished 13-3, and trying to build momentum entering the league tournament. The tournament winner earns the Big West’s automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Against UC Davis, the ’Bows surged from a 40-25 deficit to win for the third time in seven road games. Leland Green, who did not play in the first half, sparked the comeback with 10 points.
“He let it all on the line,” Ganot said of the reserve guard. “We talk about leaving it all out there and not living with any regrets. He ignited it, and all the other guys stepped up at that point. Eddie (Stansberry) hit big shots during the (23-4) run we made. One of the underrated guys during the course of the game you always take a little for granted at times because he’s so soft-spoken is Brocke (Stepteau). And Brocke had one of his better games all season. Different guys made different hustle plays, and that’s what you have to do. You have to scratch and claw and scrap to fight back.”
Ganot said the ’Bows have remained close throughout the season.
“We started off the year 15 (players) strong, and here we are down the stretch 15 strong,” Ganot said. “You see a lot of teams have guys in and out and all that kind of nonsense. Our guys have stayed united, stayed together.”
