UC Irvine was the unwanted guest at the Hawaii retirement party.
On a night when the Rainbow Warriors retired the No. 33 jersey of Bob Nash — who spent 31 years as a player and then coach for the basketball team — the Anteaters were the spoilers in a 70-63 dousing in the Stan Sheriff Center.
A crowd of 5,949 saw the Anteaters control the boards, accelerate the transitions and answer every ’Bows comeback.
“We battled and they battled,” UH post Zigmars Raimo said. “It was two good teams going against each other. Someone had to win.”
Once again, it was the Anteaters enjoying the postgame celebration. The Anteaters beat the ’Bows for the sixth time in a row, and eighth in the past nine meetings.
>> PHOTOS: Hawaii vs. UC Irvine
The Anteaters improved to 17-10 overall and, at 9-2, solidified their spot atop the Big West standings. The ’Bows suffered their fourth consecutive loss — their longest skid in two years — and fell to 14-10 and 5-5.
“We’re looking forward to getting back to work this week,” said UH coach Eran Ganot, departing Tuesday ahead of road games against UC Riverside on Thursday and Long Beach State on Saturday. “Our team has a lot of fight and conviction and belief. We’re going through a lot … we lost four straight.
“We lost a tough one tonight. We lost in overtime (two weeks ago). We lost by one (the past Wednesday). We have to show our maturity and professionalism and go back to work.”
Through the first half, the ’Bows kept pace with the Anteaters’ quick-moving offense and against the nation’s second-best rebounders (plus-9.5 per game). But following an emotional halftime ceremony honoring Nash, the Anteaters seized control.
In the second half, UCI won the paint war — 20-11 on the boards — and sprinted to a 22-4 advantage on fast breaks.
“I thought our half-court defense was excellent, other than inside post defense,” Ganot said. “But they capitalized on our lapses, as good teams do.”
The Anteaters rotated four in the post. Tommy Rutherford provided rugged screens at all levels. Brad Greene, a 6-11 junior who has lost 80 pounds since his freshman season, grasped a game-high eight rebounds. Collin Welp, a 6-9 stretch (and retract) four, scored 15 points on left-handed scoops and bankers while crossing the lane. And they attacked the boards.
“We made a lot of big recovery plays on the offensive glass in the second half,” UCI coach Russell Turner said. “I challenged all my big guys. In the first half, I didn’t think our bigs played very well. A lot of that goes to Hawaii. They challenged us with physical play in single coverage, and we didn’t really rise to that in the first half, either in the post or on the glass.”
But with improved post play, the Anteaters renewed possessions with kickouts to Eyassu Worku (21 points) or Evan Leonard (16), or ignite breaks with outlet passes.
“The transition game and the rebounding were unacceptable,” Ganot said.
The ’Bows also struggled at the charity stripe, missing seven of 13 free throws.
“It’s difficult, and those are big,” Ganot said of UH’s free throws. “And (the Anteaters) knocked theirs down.”
The Anteaters hit their first five shots of the second half to extend their lead to 40-31. When the ’Bows closed to 46-45, the Anteaters scored five in a row. When the margin was 51-48, the Anteaters went on an 8-0 run. When it was 66-63 with 35 seconds left, UCI closed with four free throws.
“I appreciate our fight,” Ganot said. “We had greater fight and spirit than we did Wednesday. There were stretches we had good looks and didn’t make them. And they had good looks and made them.”
