HONOLULU — Coach Eran Ganot could have done without the 12 first-half turnovers, but all in all Hawaii has little to quibble about heading into Big West play.
Roderick Bobbitt hit 7 of his 11 shots from beyond the arc Saturday night and dropped 31 points on Howard, his third 30-point effort in his last four games, and Hawaii cruised to a 92-59 win in its final nonconference tuneup
Aaron Valdes scored 16 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and dished out 11 assists for Hawaii (11-2), which won for the 11th time in 12 games on his home floor to start the year. Quincy Smith added 15 points.
The Rainbow Warriors host Cal Poly on Wednesday in their conference opener.
“The league is coming off its best year in over decade, and it’s better this year,” Ganot said. “We’ll have our hands full and are excited about the challenge.”
Bobbitt hit a career-high 32 points against Oklahoma and 30 the next night against Auburn in the Diamond Head Classic. Bobbitt scored just 5 points against Mississippi State on Tuesday.
Hawaii built a double-digit lead in the first half, with Bobbitt knocking down a trey to send the Warriors into intermission with a 50-36 cushion.
National scoring leader James Daniel hit his average with 29 points to lead Howard (7-8), but he shot 8 of 24 from the floor and finished with six turnovers.
“You know he is going to get his,” Hawaii coach Eran Ganot said. “You just have to hope he doesn’t get other players involved.”
The Bison were playing without starters James Miller and Marcel Boyd due to injuries.
Penn beats Hawaii
The Rainbow Wahine shot just 35 percent from the field and lost to Penn 64-54 at Stan Sheriff Center.
Michelle Nwokedi led the Quakers (9-2) with 20 points and 15 rebounds.
Hawaii (7-6) was outrebounded (42-41) for the first time this season. Senior center Connie Morris finished with 13 points and eight rebounds.
