UC Riverside upsets Hawai’i, 77-71
In a season of unexpected highs, the University of Hawai’i basketball team experienced an unexpected low in a 77-71 upset loss to UC Riverside on Thursday night.
Jaylen Bland scored 20 points and Secean Johnson added 19 to lead the Highlanders to the surprising win.
Hawai’i dropped to 22-4 overall, and remained in first place in the Big West Conference at 11-2. The Warriors could have moved one game closer to clinching the regular-season title with a win. They still need to victories in the final three games to secure the title.
Aaron Valdes scored 23 points, Roderick Bobbitt added 17 and Stefan Jankovic 12 for the Warriors.
UC Riverside, which entered the game on a four-game losing streak, improved to 5-8 in the conference.
Hawai’i opened the game with a 9-2 lead, as the Highlanders committed four turnovers in the first four minutes. The Warriors still had a 21-16 lead when the Highlanders went on a 9-2 run to take a 25-23 lead with 4:30 remaining in the first half.
The score was tied at 28, but UCR closed the first half with an 8-4 surge to take a 36-32 lead at intermission.
The Warriors cut the UCR lead to 40-38 on a 3-pointer by Valdes early in the second half, but the Highlanders responded with a 12-4 surge to increase their lead to 52-42 with 13:41 remaining. Jankovic was assessed a technical foul during the run, and Jaylen Bland made two free throws.
It was the first of five technical fouls called by the officials in the second half (three on Hawai’i, two on UCR).
Bobbitt drained two free throws after a technical on UCR’s DJ Sylvester, then Bobbitt added one more free throw for a standard foul to cut the UCR lead to 61-57 with 7:39 remaining.
It was part of an 12-2 surge by the Warriors that eventually tied the score at 63 with 5:34 remaining.
The Warriors took their first lead of the second half on a putback by Jankovic that put them up 67-65, but UCR responded immediately with a 3-pointer by Bland to reclaim the lead at 68-67.
The Highlanders then converted eight of eight free throws in the final
Hawai’i’s next game will be the regular-season home finale against CSUN on Saturday night. The “Senior Night” game is already an official sellout.
More details, including video highlights and interviews, will be posted later.
(Game photo courtesy Matt Osumi)
Thursday’s other Big West results
Cal State Fullerton 78, at Cal Poly 77
UC Santa Barbara 78, at CSUN 63
Saturday’s Big West Games
UC Riverside at Long Beach State
UC Santa Barbara at Cal State Fullerton
UC Irvine at UC Davis
I wonder what happened with Bobbitt and the other coach?
Look, honestly, normally, a lot of things about tonight would make me super upset: Our poor play, the behavior of one of our players at the end of the game (AGAIN), and more than anything the HORRENDOUS officiating! BUT…I don’t know, I love these kids and something tells me that this is another great time for a loss, just like the Long Beach loss. We’re gonna come back extremely focused and kick some butt the next five games.
Disappointed. Good crowd cheered hard. Team has to
better composure. Riverside played very well. Senior
night good sendoff for seniors graduates.
Get ready for Quincy versus Kendall Smith. Probably
Smith parents at Stan Sheriff Center. Sold out!
Got to keep some composure even when you are behind in the score or taking a loss.
Hope it’s at least seven more games.
Coach Ganot will address composure by leaders.
Eran good at disciplining focus guys. Warriors will be
alright get on another winning streak. Any loss hurts.
Made it easier for NCAA and who is or is not at large
bubble team I think? Warriors just 3 wins in Anaheim!
The staff and players went in thinking it would be a win. You’d think they would have learned from the LBSU loss. Guess not. Pretty shameful.
Well, I hope that puts an end to all the at-large berth “discussions.”
The most disappointing aspect was the loss of composure, during and after the game. No sense dwelling on it, but not the kind of behavior you’d like to see in the home team.
Time to regroup as they did after the Long Beach loss. One game, one win at a time.
I would like to see Jovanovich play more and with more focus and intensity. The fact that he can come off the bench just makes it easier for the starters to relax. It’s time for a thirty point game from the other Stefan.
And Tumala 0 of 3 from the 3-line. Must be a study week.
I too think all the team will be more focused as we get to tournament time and all the games are big.
RE-Group Fourth Time
Did GOOD After Previous Three Losses
Bounce Back Again, ‘Bows
ACTUALLY FIRST BAD Loss
BUT Obviously “WE” Did NOT Learn ‘Enough’ from The Long Beach Loss
ALWAYS Got To RESPECT Your Opponent
From NON-Player “Fans” @ This Website (IF You Played You Should Know Better)
TO A FEW ‘BOWS In Warm-Ups (When I started Getting Worried)
ACTING Like They were The Globetrotters warming Up for The Kentucky Colonels
COACH and ‘Bows Gotta Gain / Keep Composure
STILL GOT A Little More Time To Learn
BEFORE EVERY Game Is DO OR DIE…
GET Back To
JUST KEEP WINNIN’
GO ‘BOWS!
That was a hard one to take, but I think we’ll bounce back strong! Bobbitt was exposed big time, and that type of behavior gives future opponents more leverage on you. I didn’t expect that out of him, but I feel confident he’ll rebound. Tough loss, but lets start another winning streak on senior night Saturday.
Go ‘Bows!
Good Game Bows!
Let’s get these next few wins.
Stay FOCUSED, Stay POSITIVE, Stay STRONG and Let’s get the job done together as a TEAM.
That was pure ugliness. bad offensive decisions by everybody. poor focus on defense. terrible rebounding. Caught in the hype again. Just like the Long Beach loss.
Bobbitt was upset several times tonight. I saw other teammates upset as well. Enough is enough! When a player gets bad calls its one thing. But when you have the other teams coaching staff talking trash. I would be pissed to. Bobbitt’s a quiet player but just like any other player if you have the other teams coaches talking sideline trash to you, then what are you suppose to do. I’m not saying what Bobbitt did was right or wrong. But! I don’t think it’s fair to be taunted by other coaches. Let people know I’m here to play and win. But I’m also not going to sit back and get talked down by anyone. I saw Roderick talking to his own coaching staff. I felt the head coach should have done more. I’ve watch many games and I’ve seen other coaches defend their players. I just didn’t see it done tonight.
I have a strong feeling our coaching staff spent very little effort and time preparing an adequate scouting report. We went in thinking we would win and we were totally unprepared and exposed. I’m not kidding but I think we would have had a better chance at the end, when we were up by 1, if we put in Nikko instead of Bobbitt. I saw no sense of urgency in Bobbitt. Even with 1 minute left in the game, our guys were playing like we had all the time in the world to clinch the win. Wake up.
Hope the coaches realize we need Fleming on the court they can’t keep playing him like that.
Whatever you do don’t speak bad on these men , win or lose these men have shown thr heart and desire to be winners!! Again this is our fourth lose of the seasons I followed the game of basketball closely(ncaa), Oklahoma went into their conference play undefeated and have lost five games but still stand as number 3 in the nation,along with the juggling of one through ten in the polls just shows that everyone is beatable, not just our beloved Bows!Also to all fans with disappointing feelings from losing you feel no different than the team and the coaching staff your pain is minor to the pain the team actually has!!A wake up call once again!!! I wouldn’t worry until there’s no more tomorrow, when the last game of the year is played, until then you should have no reason to look back and reflect on what happen in the past.In other words GET OVER IT AND MOVE ON! That’s to the team and fans! lets get the victory Saturday !! Also give credit to the coaching staff they might or may not read this insider (About who should be playing and who shouldn’t) but tonight it showed that they were trying to involve all players within the scheme of the game things just didn’t work as planned, Let’s show up big this weekend show love for your team by packing the house!!!! WE ARE ONE!!!!! LETS GO BOWS!
I will say this. If this team DID make it to the NCAA tournament and they lost, and a certain player on our team again showed such a public display of bad behavior, it would be an embarrassment and black eye to the state of Hawaii. It already is to the University when, twice now, he goes straight to the locker room and doesn’t join his teammates on the court after the game to sing the Alma Mater.
Tonight was all about rushed 3 point shots , not boxing out, and missed free throws…end of story…so disappointing..but we are still in 1st and have a good shit of still winning out…it seems like we shoot better away from home from the line and rebound better too!
shot* lol
Tav did you watch the game bro because Rod hit the go ahead shot with less then 2 min left in the game, 17ptd 7 asst 3reb come on bro Fo Real! Some of you don’t want to be defeated and it’s cool when we win but when we come up short you blame players! How many times did you run up the court tonight! LOL All I’m saying is stay true don’t praise A player when we win then knocked them when we lose just stay true. We need support brother!
I’m curious what the banter was between the UCR coach and the Hawaii players. The coach would always have a smirk whenever he turned around. Players get heated and say things and get technicals, but coaches should be on a shorter leash when it comes to opposing players.
That being said, I just want to know of out of pure curiosity. By no means do I think that is why Hawaii lost the game.
-fu
KelleyO A blind man could see your not a RODERICK BOBBITT fan and that’s cool cause there’s many more like you out there been like that for years,(so it’s really nothing NEW to the BOBBITT family) but don’t talk about being an embarrassment to the state or the University!!! Roderick put HAWAII in the Record books last year first time any player finished the season leading the nation in any category for HAWAII Team sports that won’t ever be taking away from the school or him, and now he’s on the verge of breaking a record this year!!!!!!! Look I’m in town if there’s anything negative you want to say about my son you can tell me in person, I’ll even buy you a drink (Pepsi water or even a beer) but don’t dog him out on the insider leave his name out your mouth because you only talk about him when we don’t win, and where I come from we call that }>}>|>\!{£|>
Yes KELLYO, I don’t say much on here. But! Glad to see how much you like to talk negative about some of the players. I’m a HUGE Hawaii Fan!!!! I’ve followed Roderick Bobbitt for years. When I found out UH wanted him I was excited for this young man. He brought his basketball knowledge, and his coaching on the court skills to his team. I don’t know if you don’t like this young man. If that’s the case then as an adult if you’re and adult you need to keep your negative responses to yourself. Don’t you know that the players read commits. If I was a player and saw you said something negative about them they would be hurt. They would probably say WTH who is this? I support all these young men on the team. They all play hard. They all want to win.
KELLYO, stay strong. If you’re a UH fan then stand up for your team. Nobody is perfect! Stay off of Roderick Bobbitt let that man play his game. Let’s see if you can get out there and play damn near 40 minutes per game. Let’s see if you can handle the crap that’s going on out there on the court. Let’s see if you can handle being taunted out there on the floor. If you can handle all that then YOU “ARE” one special person. I’ll end it by saying.. Stop targeting people it’s not a GOOD LOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tinklebell
I put the blame on Ganot. They played just like at the Irvine game — uninspired, but just couldn’t pull it off this time. They gotta play Fleming more.
I’m just glad that wasn’t Isaac they would dropped the hammer.
Oakland510,
Yes, I was at the Stan Sheriff Center as usual. I know Rod scored to pull us ahead by 1, if I remember correctly. But that was with around 2 minutes left in the game? You could tell Rod was on edge at the end and in hind sight, it would have been a good idea to put Nikko in for the last minute. Next man up.
Oakland510,
Will definitely be there on Saturday to support the team and see the seniors one last time. Go Bows!
Kelly O,
your criticism is very shameful. Win or lose you should support these boys. Sometimes emotions run high in a game and they can get the best of them. Although they could have played better, there were many egregious calls that affected them last night. Bobbit is a competitor. If you know anything about sports players and coaches trash talk. It’s a part of the game. Don’t you think it’s shameful that the UCR coaches were given a second chance by the refs instead of being T’d up immediately. Without Bobbit we wouldn’t be where we are. Plain and simple.
Oakland510,
Totally agreed with your comments. I am fully behind this team win or lose! Sure, this loss was disappointing, but we need to learn from it and move on to the next game. This group of young men played their hearts out for Hawaii. We as fans need to support and appreciated them. This is Hawaii’s Team! Go Bows!!!
Nov 28 L
Dec 23 L
Jan 30 L
Feb 24 L
The end of the month has been hard on us but I’ll still take it! 22-4 let’s make it 23 tomorrow . Just Win Bows
Tough Loss…..
Shake it off, get ‘um back next time. Parlay this loss into fuel for the rest of the way out.
Again, the refs were pretty bad. T up a player and give a warning to the bench?
Despite this, our fam will be at Senior Night and my wife just booked us to go to Anaheim. Back’em up all da way.
Go Bows
What ever happened to UHFanz 01?
We didn’t play well. Riverside is a well coached disciplined team that shoots 3’s well. We were hyped emotionally as anyone would expect in front of a Loud crowd about to win a Conf Championship, but when we started struggling on both ends-lid on our basket and poor matchups for Johnson and Bland..plus some marginal calls, we lost our Focus and our cool a little bit.
Hey it Happens.. These guys are Human and other than the LBSU home loss our Team has PLAYED HARD, Followed the Game plan and Defended well enough to make themselves Very tough to play against. Ask #4 Oklahoma.
I Give UCR CREDIT..they BEAT US FAIR/SQUARE and for the First time this yr I think Cutts out adjusted Eran and his Staff a little bit. NO second-guessing the Conference COY, but SHERIFF Drameh on the quick 6’4″ SJohnson might have been a adjustment to try. That keeps Q Smith on the Floor more to pressure the ball and make those HUSTLE PLAYS on both ends. And that brings in Fleming too for more minutes at the #2.
Both Thomas and Sai didn’t have great games BUT they will Bounce Back strong on Saturday. *I Love Rod Bobbitt’s Game and the senior to me, post game slights and all is Still our MVP IMO this season. BUT, for HIS SAKE the rest of the season and for Pro Ball opportunities HE has to Examine his OWN conduct and mistakes, make it RIGHT with his Coaches and Team then just Learn the Lesson and just GO PLAY and LEAD YOUR TEAM!! I thinks he’s a Great PG, but BE the Great Leader your Hawaii Team NEEDS TO WIN and Pro Coaches and GM’s are looking for! I think hes a Good guy and one Heck of a competitor. But he needs to be Smarter than that and Handle a brutally tough L better. I’m sure he Knows all of this and will make it RIGHT.
Eran TOO IMO needs to be more Vocal and visible when His players start getting upset or are losing their Cool. Grab the kids arm, sit him Down and take Control over the Situation. Calm them Down, help them Regain their Focus and composure and Give them some Perspective. *This is Ganot’s First season and inevitably there were GOING to be Rough spots and Teaching moments FOR HE AND HIS STAFF.
That being said what this Team and Coaching Staff have Done so far on the Court is Amazing. YES we have to Mature and Coach and our Staff HAVE to have a Better control over emotional Guys like Janks and Rod. Don’t Throw out ALL THE GOOD bc of some Disappointing Decisions and Conduct by our 2 Conf POY candidates. Whose Hopes to Win that Award took a BAD TURN last night when both guys chose to Skip the handshake line and Alma Mater and Rod went after Cutts verbally after the game.
LEARN THE LESSONS, SHAKE IT OFF WARRIORS and GO EARN YOUR CHAMPIONSHIP and RESPECT. GO BOWS!! GO WARRIORS!!