UC Irvine hands Hawaii a 25-point beatdown

Dominating all phases, the UC Irvine basketball team overpowered Hawaii 77-52 in Saturday’s Big West game in the Bren Events Center.

“They absolutely beat us in every facet,” UH coach Eran Ganot said in a postgame radio interview. “They out-competed us. They out-toughed us. They out-gritted us, especially in the second half.“

The game featured two scary moments — when UH guard Noel Coleman was inadvertently struck in the face and, in the second half, guard JoVon McClanahan fell on his back after being upended while airborne. Both players returned to the game. There also was what appeared to be an animated exchange between Ganot and UCI coach Russell Turner that was caught on the regional telecasts.

After UH’s Zoar Nedd hit a free throw to cut the deficit to 23 points with seven seconds remaining, the Anteaters drove down court, with Hunter Ruck, playing in only his fifth game of the season, scoring on a tip as the final horn sounded. Unwritten rules usually call for a team insurmountably ahead to take a metaphorical knee in the closing seconds.

“Whatever they do on their end is their decision,” Ganot told play-by-play announcer Bobby Curran in the postgame interview. “What we do on our end is our decision. And you go from there.”

The Anteaters scored eight of the final 11 points of the first half to expand their lead to 32-23, then outscored the ’Bows 45-29 after the intermission.

“I always expect us to fight back and come back,” Ganot said. “We had a couple stretches, but we never got over the hump. We didn’t really shoot the ball well. I don’t think we’ve ever lived and died by the 3 because we’re good defensively and we rebound. But when you don’t shoot the ball well and you get smashed on the boards and you don’t defend, that surprises me. I felt we got hit in the mouth and staggered a little bit versus continuing to fight through.”

The Anteaters constructed a 39-29 advantage in rebounds, with 6-9 forward Collin Welp pulling down 13 boards to complement his team-high 18 points. The Anteaters turned 13 turnovers, including four steals, into 13 points. In one sequence Emmanuel Tshimanga pulled down consecutive offensive rebounds, leading to JC Butler’s layup.

The ’Bows connected on 32.7% of their shots, including 15% on 3s (3-for-20).

“Things that happened (Saturday) exposed some areas that we need to clean up,” Ganot said. “I expect our guys to respond.”

Mate Colina, a 7-foot post, played 17 minutes, 28 seconds, his longest court time in the seven games since returning from safety-health protocols. Colina scored a team-high 12 points. “We were getting our teeth kicked in inside,” Ganot said. “So we had to try Mate, and we had to try some different looks, especially when we were playing good defense for a stretch. We did not defend (in) the second half.”

Colina was a surprise choice as a substitute free-throw shooter after McClanahan’s fall. Colina hit both free throws.

“They outplayed us,” Ganot told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. “That should be the focus of the game. They out-toughed us. They beat us in every facet and deserved to win. That’s it. My hope is we learn from it and grow. As we responded before, we’ll respond again.”