Warrior Insider

One streak continued and another ended, and neither was good news for the University of Hawai’i basketball team. The Rainbow Warriors struggled defensively in an 83-67 road loss to Cal State Fullerton on Friday in Titan Gym in Fullerton, Calif.

It was the Rainbow Warriors’ fourth consecutive loss, and they dropped to 3-4 overall and 1-4 in the Big West Conference. The Titans improved to 4-4 and 3-4. It also ended Hawai’i’s five-game winning streak against Fullerton, a streak dating to 2018.

The teams will play again on Saturday in another conference game at Titan Gym. It is scheduled to start at 5 p.m. Pacific Time (3 p.m. Hawai’i Time) and will be streamed live on ESPN3.com, and on radio via ESPN Honolulu (1420 AM, 92.7 FM).

The Warriors had a brief lead in the first half, trailed by just seven at halftime, but could never get within close range of the Titans during a frustrating second half.

Sophomore guard Justin Webster led the Warriors with 20 points, including 5-of-8 shooting from 3-point range. He also grabbed six rebounds and had three assists. It was his second consecutive game of 20 points or more.

Junior Madut added 12 points and five rebounds, Biwali Bayles contributed nine points, nine rebounds and four assists, and James Jean-Marie scored nine for the Warriors.

Ultimately, Hawai’i could not contain the Titans’ offense.

Fullerton shot 53.6 percent (30 of 56) from the field, including 50 percent (9 of 18) from 3-point range. Both of those totals were season-highs for a Hawai’i opponent. In contrast, the Warriors shot 39.1 percent (25 of 64) and 36 percent (9 of 25) from 3-point range.

The Titans hit their first three 3-point attempts of the game and raced to a 13-4 lead to open the contest.

Webster countered with three 3-pointers of his own during an 11-2 Hawai’i surge that tied the score at 15-all with 12:06 remaining. The Warriors took a momentary 21-20 lead on two free throws by Casdon Jardine with 8:39 remaining, but that lead lasted all of 19 seconds.

Fullerton closed the first half with a 9-4 run to take a 42-35 advantage at intermission.

Webster scored 14 points and grabbed all six of his rebounds in the first half.

The Titans increased their lead to 46-36 early in the second half, and stayed in control the rest of the way. Hawai’i got as close as seven (55-48) with 12:14 remaining, but Fullerton responded with a 10-2 surge to take control for good at 65-50 with 9:04 left on the clock. The Warriors never got closer than nine the rest of the way.

Hawai’i played without two rotation players – sophomore forward Bernardo da Silva did not make the trip due to nagging injuries; sophomore point guard Noel Coleman sat out with an undisclosed injury.

Tray Maddox Jr. led Fullerton with 23 points, including 5-of-7 shooting from 3-point range. Dante Maddox Jr. added 20 points.

“It was our ball movement,” Tray Maddox Jr. said during a post-game interview on the ESPN3 webcast. “Guys were hitting the wide open man, guys weren’t holding the ball too long, and today I feel like we hit big shots, wide open shots.”

CLICK HERE to view boxscore

Saturday’s Game Info
HAWAI’I at CAL STATE FULLERTON
When: FSaturday, Jan. 23 (5:00 p.m. PT)
Where: Titan Gym – Fullerton, Calif.
TV: None
Streaming Video: www.espn3.com
Radio: Live on ESPN Honolulu (1420 AM/92.7 FM), KRKH (Maui), KPUA (Hawai’i Island), and KTOH (Kaua’i)
Audio Webcast: ESPNHonolulu.com/Sideline Hawai’i App.
Live Stats: FullertonTitans.com

Big West Conference
Friday’s Games
UC Santa Barbara 105, at CSUN 58
at UC Irvine 68, Cal Poly 49
CSU Bakersfield 47, at UC Riverside 45
at UC San Diego 89, UC Davis 69
at Cal State Fullerton 83, Hawai’i 67

Saturday’s Games
UC Santa Barbara at CSUN
Cal Poly at UC Irvine
CSU Bakersfield at UC Riverside
UC Davis at UC San Diego
Hawai’i at Cal State Fullerton