Hawaii men’s basketball team rebounds to beat Cal State Fullerton

Hawaii’s dominance on the backboards powered the Rainbow Warrior basketball team to a 76-53 bounce-back win over Cal State Fullerton on Saturday at Titan Gym in Fullerton, Calif.

The ’Bows grabbed 18 offensive rebounds to build a 20-1 advantage in second-chance points and UH (4-4, 2-4 Big West Conference) snapped a four-game losing streak a day after enduring an 83-67 defeat to the Titans (4-5, 3-5).

“We executed really well, we defended extremely well in the second half and we were obviously tenacious on the glass,” UH coach Eran Ganot said in a phone interview after the ’Bows earned a split of the road trip.

“More than anything it was a by-product of a great approach. I couldn’t be prouder of our guys and our staff for bouncing back and finding that effort and chemistry that we’ve been looking for that, to be honest, we’ve had to work through with so many new guys. It was a step in the right direction and hopefully we can build off of it.”

UH guard Junior Madut led a balanced UH offense with 14 points and helped spark a renewed defensive effort. Forward James Jean-Marie finished with 13 points on 6-for-7 shooting from the field and guard Justin Webster and forward Casdon Jardine contributed 12 each.

Center Mate Colina led UH’s rebounding effort with 11 boards and the ’Bows finished with a 48-21 advantage overall. UH also outscored Cal State Fullerton 36-26 in the paint while shooting 47% from the field, hitting on 58% in the second half. Conversely, Cal State Fullerton shot just 29% (7-for-24) after halftime.

Ganot said he sensed the shift in energy well before tip-off and the Rainbows delivered their most complete effort of the season to date.

“We talked in the locker room after (Friday’s) game. The group talked again at the hotel and their focus and energy in the walk-through today and the film session, you could just feel their professional approach and mentality coming in and they were rewarded for that approach,” Ganot said.

Cal State Fullerton pulled away on Friday in the opener of the two-game series led by Tray Maddox Jr.’s 23 points. Madut drew the defensive assignment on Maddox for much of Saturday’s rematch and helped limit the Titans’ leading scorer to 12 points on 5-for-11 shooting.

Maddox was the only Titan in double figures a day after they had four players with at least 13.

“Those kind of players … they’re going to get some numbers but you have to make them work for it and limit it and I thought Junior was terrific on both ends,” Ganot said. “He certainly has the potential to be one of the best two-way players in the league.”

Fullerton got out to a 9-for-12 shooting start, but Hawaii’s work on the backboards helped the Rainbows take a 35-28 lead into halftime. UH outrebounded the Titans 21-11 in the first 20 minutes, with 10 offensive boards contributing to 11 second-chance points.

“I thought we were getting really good shots,” Ganot said. “It’s always easier to offensive rebound good shots because everybody knows where it’s coming from.”

Justin Hemsley led UH with eight points off the bench in the first half, going 2-for-3 from beyond the 3-point arc. He drained one from the corner to give UH a 32-28 lead with two minutes left in the first half and Biwali Bayles added another from the left wing to stretch the lead to seven going into the break.

UH rolled the momentum into a 12-3 run to start the second half and led 47-31 when Webster snagged a defensive rebound and drove coast-to-coast for a layup. UH’s lead didn’t dip below 13 the rest of the way.

UH returns home to face league leader UC Irvine on Friday and Saturday at SimpliFi Arena.