Warrior Insider

The University of Hawai’i basketball team got a “first” on Thursday, and is now aiming for another on Saturday.

The Warriors got their first road win of this season, 72-63, at UC Riverside on Thursday. The next game is at CSUN on Saturday, and the Warriors are in search of their first three-game winning streak of this season.

Hawai’i is 10-11 overall and in a four-way tie for fourth place in the Big West Conference at 4-4. CSUN is 10-12 overall and in third place at 6-3.

The game is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. (Hawai’i time) and will be televised on Fox Sports Prime Ticket (Oceanic channels 228 and 1228 in Hawai’i).

The Warriors beat the Matadors, 80-77, in Honolulu on January 18, when freshman guard Leland Green hit a 3-pointer with less than a second remaining.

Senior forward Noah Allen had 30 points and 12 rebounds in the win over CSUN, and he continues to lead the Warriors in both scoring (13.6) and rebounding (5.5).

Junior forward Gibson Johnson is next at 10.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, and he tallied 11 points and six boards in the win over CSUN.

Sophomore forward Jack Purchase and sophomore guard Sheriff Drammeh had the hot hands in the breakthrough road win at UC Riverside on Thursday. They each scored 15 points and made four 3-pointers, and Purchase also grabbed a career-high nine rebounds.

Purchase is averaging 10.1 points and 4.0 rebounds per game, and ranks third in the Big West with 50 3-pointers. Drammeh is averaging 9.7 points per game and ranks second on the team with 26 3-pointers.

Sophomore point guard Brocke Stepteau had 14 points and seven assists in the win at UC Riverside, and he is contributing 7.5 points and 3.2 assists per game. Green, who has been battling flu-like symptoms on the road this week, is averaging 6.7 points and 3.3 rebounds per game.

The Matadors generate the highest-scoring games in the conference, and are coming off a 108-98 victory over Long Beach State. While Hawai’i has won two games in a row, CSUN is on a three-game win streak.

The Matadors are led by junior guard Kendall Smith, who is averaging 16.2 points and 4.2 rebounds per game, and leads the Big West in assists with 4.8 per game. He scored 20 in the loss at Hawai’i last month.

The key player to CSUN’s recent success has been Tavrion Dawson, a 6-8 junior forward. In the team’s last three wins, he is averaging 19.0 points, 12.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game, while shooting 60.6 percent from the field. For the season, he is averaging 14.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.

Other players to watch for the high-scoring Matadors include: 6-5 junior guard Darin Johnson (13.4 points, 4.0 rebounds per game), 6-3 senior guard Aaron Parks (11.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists per game), and 6-8, 260-pound sophomore forward Rakim Lubin (8.9 points, 5.3 rebounds per game).

(Road game photos courtesy Warren Haraki)

HAWAI’I (10-11, 4-4) AT CSUN (10-12, 6-3)
When: Saturday, February 4, 7:30 p.m. PT (5:30 p.m. Hawai’i time)
Where: The Matadome – Northridge, Calif.
TV: Fox Sports Prime Ticket (Oceanic channels 228 and 1228 in Hawai’i)
Streaming video: www.foxsportsgo.com
Radio: ESPN1420 AM
Streaming audio: www.espn1420am.com
Live statistics: www.gomatadors.com

Saturday’s Games
UC Riverside at Cal Poly
UC Davis at UC Santa Barbara
Hawai’i at CSUN, 5:30 p.m. (Hawai’i time)
UC Irvine at Long Beach State