Hawaii opens series with blowout of Cal Poly

With accuracy from the baseline, free-throw line and behind the 3-point line, the bottom line was the Hawaii basketball team’s 84-68 victory over Cal Poly on Friday in SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.

Combo guard Justin Webster scored a game-high 20 points, and center Mate Colina and forward Casdon Jardine each contributed 14 as the Rainbow Warriors shot 58.3%, their season’s best.

The ’Bows also constructed a 38-19 dominance on the boards.

But the opener of this two-game Big West series was a series of adjustments. It followed the theme of the week in which the Rainbow Warriors changed schedules, voiding two road games against UC San Diego to play host to Cal Poly.

For Friday’s game, the ’Bows would not start two of their most productive players — wing Junior Madut and post James Jean-Marie — for what appeared to be disciplinary reasons. Ganot addressed the matter in the post-game news conference, saying, “I don’t want to over-complicate it. There are expectations. We address them in the moment. There’s consequences. There’s education. We move forward.”

Madut, who entered with 12:46 left in the first half, made an immediate impact. He scored eight points in the next six minutes as the ’Bows rallied for a 19-15 lead.

Madut was able to create off the dribble and, without the ball, found space — and teammates’ passes — on the perimeter.

Jean-Marie did not score in the first half, mostly because he picked up two quick fouls after entering with 12:09 to play.

But Colina, a 7-foot junior, delivered one of his most complete performances. Working the high-low game, Colina was able to parlay lobs from Jardine and the trio of point guards into layups and baby hooks. Colina hit five of six shots and grabbed nine rebounds. He also sank all of his free throws. The ’Bows were 19 of 26 from the line. The Mustangs hit 10 of 12 free throws.

“I just played, and it was there,” Colina said of his energetic performance on both ends.

Of Colina’s development, Ganot said, “you build confidence in practice, then you need breakouts in games. This is something that’s been coming on. … The combination of his work and confidence is fun to watch.”

Webster, a co-captain as a sophomore, also was able to mesh athleticism with amnesia. Ganot said Webster erred when he tried to force a shot that was blocked. “We let him know it, and he kept moving on to the next play because he wants to be better.”

Webster said he learned the don’t-look-back approach from his father, Jeff Webster, a former professional basketball player. “It was always ‘the next play,’” Webster said of his father’s philosophy. “Every time the coaches tell me to do something, I make the adjustment.”

Webster was near flawless, hitting key shots, bringing up the ball against a full-court press, absorbing floor burns on loose-ball dives, and helping point guards Noel Coleman, JoVon McClanahan and Biwali Bayles.

Webster also helped guide the ’Bows through lapses. The ’Bows missed their first five 3-point attempts then buried the next six 3s. The ’Bows were also able to weather the Mustangs’ quickly launched 3s in the second half.

In recent games, the ’Bows have endured scoring lulls. “Nice to see our offensive flow improve,” Ganot said.

Ganot said the ’Bows were patient in seeking the open shot, as well as persistent in second-chance opportunities.

“It’s going to take some steps, but I thought today was a step,” Ganot said. “A lot of guys shared the ball. We had 15 assists. I was really pleased with that.”

Prior to the game, the Mustangs, in tribute to what would have been rayvon Martin’s 26th birthday, kneeled during the playing of the national anthem. But the Mustangs stood for “Hawaii Pono‘i.”