Warrior Insider

Kamaka Hepa, JoVon McClanahan and Noel Coleman each scored 12 points tonight to help Hawai’i deny visiting Cal Poly, 57-48, in more dramatic Big West Conference men’s basketball action.

A festive and vocal New Year’s Eve crowd of 2,195 in SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center watched the Warriors jump out to a stunning 16-0 lead and then hold off the Mustangs to improve to 11-3 overall and 2-0 in the Big West, tied with UC Riverside and UC Santa Barbara for the early lead in the standings. Alimamy Koroma and Trevon Taylor eached scored 10 points to lead Cal Poly, which fell to 7-7 and 1-1.

The Mustangs missed their first 11 field goals to open the game and did not score until Nick Fleming’s mid-range jumper with 12:48 remaining in the first half, but they made nine of their next 13 attempts to close it to 27-22 at halftime.

UH then opened the half with an 11-4 run and led 38-28 on McClanahan’s reverse layup eight minutes in. Cal Poly got as close as 52-48 after Brantly Stevenson’s layup with 2:14 left, but the Warriors sank five free throws and held the Mustangs scoreless down the stretch to seal the victory.

Hawai’i will be on the road next week for BWC games at UC San Diego on January 5, then at Cal State Fullerton on January 7.

More details, including video highlights and interviews, will be posted later.

Saturday’s Results
UC Irvine 79, at CSU Bakersfield 75
UC Riverside 73, at Long Beach State 72
at Cal State Fullerton 64, CSUN 52
at UC Santa Barbara 82, UC San Diego 61
at Hawai’i 57, Cal Poly 48