On a day when a storm drenched the Hawaiian islands, the UC San Diego basketball team made one of the biggest splashes in SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
A crowd of 1,370 saw the Tritons go on a 22-3 run in the second half en route to a 74-63 victory over Hawaii.
The Tritons improved to 18-4 overall and 8-2 in the Big West to remain in second place. By falling for the fourth time in five games, the Rainbow Warriors dropped to 12-9 and 4-6.
UH scored 13 of the first 18 points of the second half to seize a 47-38 lead with 13:25 to play.
But the Tritons chipped away, tying it at 47-all when Justin Rochelin stole a dribble from Tom Beattie and fed Hayden Gray for a breakaway dunk.
The Tritons went ahead 50-47 on Tyler McGhie’s 3 with 10:52 to play. The ’Bows tied it on Ryan Rapp’s 3 with 10:28 left. But the ’Bows would not hit another field goal for five more minutes.
Off a spin move, McGhie drove for a layup. Then Gray, who entered as the nation’s steals leader, took the ball away from UH’s Gytis Nemeiksa. Gray threw to McGhie, who swished a 3 from the top of the key for a 55-50 lead. The Tritons hit all seven shots, including four from 3-point range, during the surge that swelled to 22-3.
McGhie finished with 24 points, including 15 after the intermission.
“That’s what he does,” UCSD forward Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones said. “He’s a killer.”
UCSD coach Eric Olen said the goal was to give McGhie as many scoring opportunities as possible “because he’s good at putting the ball in the basket. Hawaii’s a terrific defensive team, and they made it difficult for him the way they play and get into the ball. They really defend the 3-point line. He was terrific tonight, but it was on a lot of tough shots. … It was a stretch where he made a lot of plays and got us going.”
Tait-Jones, who played three seasons at Hawaii Hilo before transferring in 2023, contributed 16 points and nine rebounds.
The ’Bows opened with a revamped lineup that included freshman Aaron Hunkin-Claytor at the point. But the change did not help the ’Bows overcome a recurring problem. Against one of the league’s most opportunistic defenses, the ’Bows turned the ball over 12 times in the first half, six coming on steals. Chris Howell had five of the Tritons’ first-half steals. In all, the Tritons forced 17 turnovers that they converted into 24 points.
“I apologize, it’s the same stuff,” UH coach Eran Ganot told reporters. “There’s the specifics. … The vague is the lack of consistency from game to game within a game. It’s been the story of the year. The specifics (are) the turnovers, obviously. This game was an interesting possession game.”
The ’Bows, who are one of the league’s most aggressive rebounders, lost 28-27 on the boards.
“We took a double-digit lead (in the first half), then we kind of heat-check it, and throw a couple away, and here it comes, and it’s a one-point game at the half,” Ganot said. “I’m proud of the guys in the second half to come out of the gates. We lose our composure a little bit. And here comes the turnovers.”
Olen said: “I thought it was a really tough performance for us just in terms of their resilience in responding multiple times throughout the game. I’m really proud of that effort.”
Both teams also had to redirect their focus from the day’s inclement weather.
“It wasn’t what we expected on this trip,” Olen said. “We talk a lot about not allowing external factors to influence our performance, whether that’s being on the road. I think we’ve been a pretty good road team all year. Whether that’s officials, or makes and misses, or the crowd. There are so many external things that we really talk about…”
