Warriors take road momentum to Fullerton
Fueled by the momentum of two straight road wins, the Hawai’i basketball team will now test itself in the fast lane for its next game.
The Warriors will conclude their four-game road stretch with a Big West Conference game on Saturday night against the run-n-shoot Cal State Fullerton Titans. The game is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. (Hawai’i time) in Titan Gym at Fullerton, Calif., and it is being promoted as “Homecoming Night” for the Titans.
The Warriors are 12-9 overall and in third place in the Big West at 6-4. The Titans are 11-10 overall and in seventh place at 4-5.
The teams have already met once, and it was a thriller in Honolulu. Garrett Jefferson dribbled the length of the court and drained a running shot from 12 feet away as the final horn sounded to give the Warriors a 90-88 win.
Such high-scoring games are commonplace for the Titans, who rank third in the nation in scoring at 82.2 points per game. They are also among the top 10 nationally in both free throw percentage (.777) and 3-point field goal percentage (.403).
Hawai’i head coach Gib Arnold has described the Fullerton guards as “one of the best backcourts in the West, if not the best.”
D.J. Seeley, a 6-foot-4 senior, ranks second in the Big West in scoring with 19.3 points per game, and is also contributing 4.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game. Vaughn, a 6-3 senior, is third in the conference in scoring with 18.2 points per game, and is also averaging 4.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game.
Seeley had 22 points, five 3-pointers and eight rebounds in the loss at Hawai’i last month; Vaughn had 26 points and five rebounds in the loss.
But the Titans run the equivalent of a four-guard offense that features several other options.
Sammy Yeager, a 6-foot-4 senior, is averaging 15.3 points per game and leads the team with 54 3-pointers and a .462 percentage from 3-point range. Alex Harris, a 6-1 sophomore, is contributing 9.8 points per game, and 6-7 junior forward Deuce Johnson is averaging 6.7 points with a .636 field goal percentage.
The Titans are 5-4 at home, but have lost their last three home games, including a 92-86 loss to last-place Cal State Northridge on Thursday.
Although Jefferson was the hero for Hawai’i in the previous win over Fullerton, it was freshman Isaac Fotu who was the star. Fotu, a 6-8 forward, had his best game of the season against the Titans, finishing with 29 points on 13-of-16 shooting, and nine rebounds.
More recently, though, the Warriors have been riding the hot hand of junior Christian Standhardinger. The 6-8 forward averaged 27.0 points and 13.0 rebounds in the last two road wins. He currently leads the team in scoring at 15.9 points per game, and is second in rebounding at 7.8.
Senior center Vander Joaquim is averaging 13.8 points and a team-high 8.1 rebounds per game, and junior guard Brandon Spearman is contributing 9.5 points per game.
Hawai’i’s advantage will be in the post. Fullerton usually relies on just seven players, and the 6-7 Deuce Johnson is the tallest. In contrast, the Warriors have five players 6-8 or taller they can use – Joaquim, Standhardinger, Fotu, 7-foot Davis Rozitis and 6-8 Ozren Pavlovic.
The Warriors lead the Big West in rebounding with 39.7 per game, while the Titans are last at 31.0 per game.
GAME INFORMATION: Hawai’i (12-9, 6-4 Big West) at Cal State Fullerton (11-10, 4-5 Big West)
When: Saturday, Feb. 2, 6:00 p.m. (Hawai’i time)
Where: Titan Gym (4,000) – Fullerton, Calif.
Television: None
Streaming Video: Available on BigWest.tv
Radio: ESPN 1420 AM will carry the game live. Neighbor islands can listen live on KNUI on Maui, KHLO in Hilo, KKON in Kona, and KTOH on Kaua’i.
Audio Webcast: Available on espn1420am.com
Live Stats: Live in-game stats are available at FullertonTitans.com
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For those in Hawai’i, here is the latest ticket deal from UH:
HONOLULU – The University of Hawai`i Athletics Department is conducting a special “4-for-2” online ticket promotion for the men’s basketball team’s last four Big West games and freshman phenom Isaac Fotu is the face of the promotion.
Playing off Fotu’s name, UH is offering fans the opportunity to purchase tickets online to the final four (4) Big West home games for the price of two (2) contests.
The total cost per package is $42 and is only available online A total of 500 upper-level seats will be available for the limited-time promotion which begins at noon on Monday, Feb. 4, and ends at noon on Thursday, Feb. 7, or while supplies last.
UH’s final four conference games at the Stan Sheriff Center include matchups against Long Beach State (Feb. 7), UC Irvine (Feb. 9), UC Santa Barbara (Feb. 28) and the team’s home finale versus Cal Poly (March 1).
For more information, visit eTicketHawaii.com or call the UH Ticket Office at (808) 956-4482.
UH MBB team, the Warriors, no fear, play tough, keep turnovers down, rebound every missed shot, get a lead, and hold on to the final buzzer. You guys, get this win against the Titans, it will be Huge victory, flying back on plane over Pacific will be smooth, either way guys, Effort, Energy, Attitude and Winners!
Go get em Warriors!
The better teams always find a way to win at the end. You can have nice stats and everything but if you throw the game away at the end, all that work means nothing.. Like some horses; they are great out of the gate but fade at the most important time—the finish. Uh is getting there and hopefully they can keep building with each game. Eight turnovers. Now that’s impressive.
Fullerton is a frightening matchup for Hawaii, playing essentially a four-guard lineup. You can bet the Titans are going to pressure the backcourt to prevent Hawaii from setting up in the half-court and pounding the ball inside. Keeping possession will be critical for Hawaii, not just to avoid getting picked for a breakaway, but also to establish its dominance in the post as Fotu did in Honolulu.
Hawaii needs to contain Kwame Vaughn; he sets the tone and plays with poise and confidence. Spearman has the quickness and size to stay with Vaughn. He might be a better matchup than Jace. Hauns and Christian are both going to have to chase quicker, smaller guys around the floor, too.
Anyway, an intriguing matchup of opposing strengths. Let’s see how it plays out.
No way CS Fullerton will make it a 4 game home losing streak…don’t think we really have a shot at this one but will be tuning in either way. Let’s GO BOWS!!
Hopefully the Warriors can make it 4…Good luck
Jawato, Clair, and Jefferson should have lots of opportunity to chase down the Titans’ guards. They might be the difference in this game, the depth.
Great promotion by the athletic department. Glad to see a stepped up effort to get butts in seats.
UH will have their hands full with Fullerton. I’m sure CSF will bring everything they got after an embarrassing loss vs Northridge on Thursday at home.
Vegas has the spread Hawaii (+7). Hawaii will need to play an excellent game to win. You can count on CSF shooting well at home and Hawaii struggles to cover the 3 pt line.
As mentioned a while back the Big West Tournament has a format that really benefits the top two teams in reg season play. After the first round (8 teams), the bracket re-shuffles so the lowest remaining seed plays the highest remaining seed. If the BW tourney started now… Long Beach would be the #1 seed. Pacific would be #2. If Long Beach wins the in 1st round and Pacific loses to the #7 seed, then the Long Beach would play the #7.
I see Long Beach holding on to #1 the rest of the way, so hopefully Hawaii can finish in the top #3. That would ensure that Hawaii won’t play Long Beach (the most talented team in BW) until the finals. I think Hawaii can handle Pacific should it end up a #2 vs #3.
I still think Hawaii has the size and enough talent to win the conference tourney. As long as they don’t beat themselves they have a live shot at the Big Dance.
Hawaii has the size and depth to win the Big West Tournament. As long as they take care of the ball and make their free throws they will be in it. And in a tournament you need to keep the front seven players fresh for the last game. When Fotu came off the bench towards the end of the game the defenders had no answer for him. Seems like a fresh Fotu spells trouble for teams. One play they double teamed him near the 3 point line and he still managed to break them and spin to the basket.Awesome to watch and is probably a glimpse of what he will be like in the coming years.
For anyone checking in: Wahine lead at Northridge, 34-33, after falling behind early 9-0 and 14-4.
Regarding BWC tournament seedings… Even though LBSU is the top team in the conference, I like our matchup with them. It’s the more disciplined teams with good ball movement: Cal Poly, UC Davis, etc. that worry me the most. Teams with outside shooters and good ball movement have killed us all season.
Wahine win, 65-53; improve to 6-3 in BWC.
Hey TEAM,
Take the hint from the Wahine-
Win the 1st1/2,
Win the 2nd1/2; finished the home-team by 12pts!
They done it with good O & D too!
Best of luck to you.
gobows, your comment is right on
The most important thing is that Hawaii peaks in March and gets a seed in which they’re confident about. I would hate to play a slow-it-down team like Cal Poly, but I still would rather play them in the early brackets than a top seeded team. Long Beach is just too well-coached, consistent, and loaded with talent.
Interestingly, Hawaii and Northridge (if they make it) will have a full week to prep for the BW tournament while everyone else has only 5 days. It would be great to finish as high as possible in the standings to keep the team’s confidence up regardless of who we are playing.
Other notes: #14 Miami wins today @ #19 NC State. 79-78.
Huge huge win! I said a couple times earlier that Fullerton was ripe for the picking, but I thought they really slipped schematically. They played the zone wrong in the second half by slowing down the game. Still, great win! That was a great win on a solid team.
AWESOME!!
NOW HERE-ON …
PLAY EVEN BETTER!
“Marginal” NOW … BUT BETTER When IT COUNTS!
SOON TO Just Plain Be Better
MAYBE As Soon As LBSU …
GO ʻBOWS!
Great, great win. Give the guys credit for staying with it in the second half. Nice to see the team hold on in a closely fought game after losing a couple tough ones earlier in the conference season.
Congratulations Warriors – great game
For those who missed it: Jace drove along the left baseline in the second half and dunked! Never saw that coming; didn’t even do it in the summer league.
Awesome baby!! as “Vitale ” would say on Espn, 3 road wins in a row, thursday coming up ,we got to pack our Arena, Protect the House Warriors , Long Beach St , battle for first place! Let’s get in on!!! Bring it!!!Warrior time!! If we beat them ,everybody storm the court !!
Making shots and making stops. Big threes by Hauns and Spearman down the stretch. Key stops down the stretch too. This team getting the reputation of the cardiac kids. Can’t seem to blow out teams and plays up to the competition. Big game on 2/7 against Long Beach. Should have a big crowd. Hang in there Manroop. Just be ready when you get the call. Ditto with Harper, and Ozi, Jefferson. Good thing Sammy Yeager fouled out. That was huge. Also, Fullerton didn’t have a good night shooting from 3 point land. That was key. A win is a win. A little luck is always a plus.
This ticket promotion is a very good one. Good job to the athletic department.