Warrior Insider

Kamaka Hepa and JoVon McClanahan each scored 17 points tonight to help Hawai’i hold off Cal State Bakersfield, 72-69, in Big West Conference men’s basketball action.

A crowd of 4,417 in SimpliFi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center watched Noel Coleman add 11 points as the Warriors improve to 16-6 overall and 7-3 in the Big West, good for sole possession of fourth place. Antavion Collum scored 23 points and Cameron Smith added 18 points to lead the Roadrunners, who fell to 6-15, 2-8.

UH jumped out to an 11-0 lead and was ahead, 45-28, at halftime after shooting 60 percent (15 of 25) from the field, including a torrid 53.8 percent (7 of 13) from 3-point range. The Warriors out-rebounded Cal State Bakersfield, 16-8.

The Warriors led, 52-34, after Hepa’s free throw with 16:13 remaining in the game, but Collum answered with a three-point play at the 16-minute mark to ignite a 16-2 run capped by Smith’s layup to cut it to 54- 50 with 6:17 left. But that is as close as the Roadrunners would get until the final second, as Beon Riley converted a three-point play to start a 7-2 run culminating in Bernardo da Silva’s layup to stretch the lead to 61-52 with 4:06 remaining.

The second round of Big West regular-season games begins next week. The Warriors will be on the road for games at UC Davis on Thursday, then at Cal Poly on Saturday.

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

Big West Conference
Saturday’s Results
at UC Irvine 81, CSUN 56
at Long Beach State 75, UC Davis 72
at UC Riverside 72, UC San Diego 65
Cal State Fullerton 65, at Cal Poly 36
at Hawai’i 72, CSU Bakersfield 69