ANAHEIM, Calif. — Stefan Jankovic and Roderick Bobbitt have carried Hawaii all season long. ADVERTISING ANAHEIM, Calif. — Stefan Jankovic and Roderick Bobbitt have carried Hawaii all season long. With a second straight trip to the Big West title game
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Stefan Jankovic and Roderick Bobbitt have carried Hawaii all season long.
With a second straight trip to the Big West title game on the line, the all-conference duo wasn’t about to stop.
Jankovic scored 24 points, Bobbitt added 21, and the top-seeded Rainbow Warriors beat No. 4 UC Santa Barbara 88-76 in the Big West semifinals Friday night.
Hawaii (26-5) will face the winner of No. 2 UC Irvine and No. 3 Long Beach State in the championship game Saturday.
“Getting back to the championship game is something we’ve been working for,” said Jankovic, the conference Player of the Year. “We’ve been waiting for this all year.”
Bobbitt, an all-conference first-teamer, hit four big 3-pointers to lead the way. He hit a three as time expired in the first half to give the Rainbow Warriors a 37-34 halftime lead, and followed with three quick 3-pointers in a 21-3 Hawaii run to open the second half.
The Rainbow Warriors led by as many as 21 in the second half and snapped the Gauchos’ nine-game win streak.
“Rod hitting that 3 at the end of the first half, that was the key play of the whole game,” Hawaii coach Eran Ganot said. “It really set the tone and carried us the rest of the way.”
Michael Bryson scored 22 points and Gabe Vincent had 17 to lead UCSB (18-13).
The Gauchos hung tough early, overcoming an early double-digit deficit with a furious 23-9 run to force a 34-34 tie.
Bobbitt swung the momentum back the Rainbow Warriors way though, sinking a long 3-pointer from the left wing at the buzzer to give Hawaii a 37-34 edge going into the locker room.
Bobbitt stayed hot out of the break, nailing three 3-pointers in the first four minutes to lead their 21-3 run. The surge put the Rainbow Warriors up 58-37 with 14 minutes to go, their largest lead of the night, and all but slammed the door on the Gauchos upset hopes.
UCSB rallied some, but never got back within three possessions.
“When you’re down that much, it’s just hard to come back,” Bryson said. “Give them credit. They made the all the plays.”
Aaron Valdes finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists for Hawaii. Reserve Alex Hart hit three 3-pointers and finished with 13 points for the Gauchos.
“We know this feeling, we like this feeling,” Valdes said. “Last year getting to the championship game and coming so close, we have unfinished business.”
