Warrior Insider

The University of Hawai’i fell behind early and never recovered in a 70-59 loss at UC Davis on Thursday at The Pavilion in Davis, Calif.

The Rainbow Warriors dropped to 16-12 overall and are now in sixth place in the Big West Conference at 7-8 with one regular-season game remaining. Hawai’i will play at Cal State Fullerton on Saturday, and will finish as either the No. 5 or No. 6 seed for the Big West Conference Tournament, March 8-10.

UCD improved to 20-9 overall and 11-4. The Aggies will play at UC Irvine on Saturday, and the winner of that game will be the regular-season champion and No. 1 seed for the Big West Conference Tournament. The Aggies also avenged a 77-72 loss at Hawai’i in January.

Mike Thomas scored 13 points to lead the Warriors, but he was limited to 16 minutes due to foul problems. He shot 4 of 7 from the field and 4 for 4 on free throws. Gibson Johnson added 12 points and six rebounds. He shot 4 of 6 from the field and 4 for 4 on free throws. Jack Purchase added 11 points off the bench, and Sheriff Drammeh scored nine.

Freshman point guard Drew Buggs finished with two points and two assists in the first half, but sat on the bench for the entire second half with a possible hand/wrist injury.

TJ Shorts II scored a game-high 21 points to lead the Aggies. He also had four assists, four rebounds and four steals. Siler Schneider added 16 points – all in the first half. Joe Mooney scored 14 and shot 4 for 5 from 3-point range.

UCD shot 53.2 percent from the field, including 50 percent (10 for 20) from 3-point range. Hawai’i shot 39.6 percent from the field, including 7 for 23 (30.4 percent) from 3-point range.

Schneider hit a 3-pointer to give UCD a 3-0 lead to open the game, and the Aggies stayed in front the rest of the way. A 7-0 run increased the UCD lead to 19-10 midway through the first half, and the Aggies eventually took a 36-21 lead at intermission.

Hawai’i shot just 31.8 percent (7 for 22) from the field in the first half, including just 2 for 11 (18.2 percent) from 3-point range. The Warriors also committed 12 turnovers in the first half, leading directly to 14 points for UCD.

Thomas, Hawai’i’s leader in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage, was limited to two points in four minutes in the first half due to foul trouble.

UCD led by as many as 17 early in the second half, but Hawai’i cut it down to eight, 60-52, with 5:07 remaining after Purchase scored on a three-point play. That was as close as it would get, as the Aggies sealed it with free throws down the stretch.

UCD played without senior forward Chima Moneke – the team’s leading scorer and rebounder – who sat out his seventh consecutive game while on an indefinite suspension.

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Thursday’s Results
at UC Riverside 72, Cal Poly 63
Long Beach State 70, at UC Santa Barbara 69
at UC Davis 70, Hawai’i 59

Saturday’s Games
Hawai’i at Cal State Fullerton, 1:00 p.m. (Hawai’i time)
UC Davis at UC Irvine
UC Riverside at Long Beach State
Cal Poly at UC Santa Barbara