Only four Hawaii players scored and none were reserves.
Not a winning proposition against a quality Big West opponent, unless the goal is to watch a four-game winning streak go up in smoke.
“I thought we’ve been through this,” coach Eran Ganot said Saturday night. “When we miss some shots we settle, and then we stop guarding. We have to be mentally tougher.”
Ganot’s comments on the OCSports broadcast came at halftime, but the first half was the difference in UC Irvine’s 72-58 win at Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu.
Instead of tying the Anteaters (15-12, 8-3 Big West) for second place in the conference, the Rainbow Warriors (12-12, 6-5) fell into a tie for fourth – and four of its next five games come on the road.
“This changes our approach in no way,” Ganot said with a hint of defiance after the game. “You go back to work. If you’re playing well, you have momentum and confidence and all that – that’s nonsense. Get ready for the next one.”
On Thursday at UC Santa Barbara, Hawaii will look for a better first half than what it got against Irvine, which fell behind 14-4 but used a 23-2 run and led 35-20 at halftime.
Luke Nelson scored 16 of his season-high 29 points in the second half and was 6 of 10 from 3-point range as the Anteaters swept the season series. Gibson Johnson scored a career-high 19 points and Noah Allen scored 18 for the Rainbow Warriors, who shot 56 percent in the second half.
“Their depth was factor,” Ganot said. “They are the deepest team in the league, and I think it wore us down.
“The second half, when we were moving it around, our offense was there.”
Sherriff Drammeh scored 12 points for UH, Jack Purchase had nine … and that was it. Shooting guard Leland Green missed his third consecutive game.
UC Irvine kept its lead between 11 and 19 in the second half and finished with a 39-22 edge on the boards, not to mention 22-0 in bench points.
“You live for these challenges,” Ganot said when asked about the upcoming road games. “We’ve had an uphill battle before.”
Wahine fall: The UH women lost their fourth in a row Saturday night, falling 67-52 to UC Santa Barbara in Honolulu.
The Rainbow Wahine (8-15, 4-7) shot just 40 percent, getting 19 points from Sarah Toeaina.
Spikers cruise again: The UH men’s volleyball team swept the West Coast portion of the road trip, beating Cal Baptist 25-13, 25-17, 25-19 for their seventh consecutive win.
Stijn van Tilburg and Brett Rosenmeier each posted 10 kills for the Rainbow Warriors (12-2, 5-2 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation), who continued their best start since 2005. UH swept UC San Diego on Friday.
Kamehameha graduate Emmett Enriques had five digs for the Lancers (3-9, 1-7).
UH makes a rare voyage to the Midwest for matches against Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association foes McKendree (Tuesday) and Lindenwood (Wednesday).
