Drew Buggs’ golden touch helps Hawaii defeat previously unbeaten San Francisco

The visiting basketball team was from the Golden State, wore gold-colored uniforms, and was coached by Todd Golden.

But it was Hawaii point guard Drew Buggs’ golden touch that sparked an 85-75 victory over previously unbeaten San Francisco before 3,602 in the Stan Sheriff Center.

“Oh, man, he arrived tonight, didn’t he,” gushed Chris Gerlufsen, UH’s acting head coach. “He played his butt off. That’s the kind of Drew I know. He played confident. He played free.”

>> Click here to see photos of the game between Hawaii and San Francisco.

Buggs had admittedly been out of sorts in the Rainbow Warriors’ first six games. But Buggs scored a career-high 25 points in a variety of ways. He powered his way past point defenders for layups. He hit jumpers off step-back moves and floaters in the lane. And he also buried three 3s, including sneaking behind 7-foot Mate Colina on an inbounds pass to the right corner.

“Drew’s not just a passer and driver,” post Zigmars Raimo said. “He’s a shooter. If you’re going to leave him wide open or you’re going to go under the ball screens, he’s going to knock them down. He’s a great shooter. I would not like to play against him.”

Buggs said he found personal inspiration. “That was for my mom,” said Buggs, whose mother passed away in October.

The Dons rotated groups every four minutes, but each had the single-minded purpose of tracking outside shooters Eddie Stansberry and Samuta Avea. That left Buggs to face one-on-one coverage.

“I knew they weren’t going to help much,” Buggs said. “They were going to stay home with our shooters. The game plan was for me to attack. My teammates did a great job of keeping me confident.”

Stansberry contributed 25 points, hitting three 3s and crafting the most spectacular play of the night. He ran a backdoor cut on the right of the lane. Stansberry caught the bounce pass from Raimo, then stared into the outstretched arms of 7-foot, 255-pound Jimbo Lull.

“I saw him wall up, and I told myself I had to go around him,” said Stansberry, who manufactured a reverse layup. “That’s one of those things I added to my bag.”

Avea added 14 points, including a thunderous put-back dunk off a Colina miss. Raimo added 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists. He also hit the first 3 of his four-season UH career.

“I didn’t shoot (3s) my first three years,” Raimo said. “I always said if you leave me open, I’m going to shoot it.”

Golden lamented: “They had some guys step up and make a lot of shots. Drew Buggs, he’s a terrible 3-point shooter over the course of his career, 20 percent. He hit three 3s tonight. Zigmars Raimo, I think that was his first career 3 tonight. And Avea and Stansberry were efficient from 3. They bombed us out.”

The Dons entered averaging nearly 12 treys per game. In a pick-your-poison decision, the Warriors covered the perimeter, leaving the post — and Lull — in one-on-one matchups. Lull scored a career-high 24 points, and buried three 3s. His single-game career high was one 3-pointer.

But Lull tired in the second half, and did not hit a field goal in the final 15 minutes. The Dons also went flat for six minutes, as the ’Bows went on a 14-1 surge to turn a 58-all tie to 72-59 with 3:41 to play.

“We needed to hit our shots and go on a run, and we found a way to get it done,” Gerlufsen said.