ANAHEIM, Calif. — Justin Bibbins scored a career-high 27 points and Long Beach used a big closing run to defeat Hawaii 73-62 in the Big West tournament quarterfinals on Thursday night.
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Justin Bibbins scored a career-high 27 points and Long Beach used a big closing run to defeat Hawaii 73-62 in the Big West tournament quarterfinals on Thursday night.
Barry Ogalue added 16 points on 7-of-7 shooting and Noah Blackwell had 11 for the fourth-seeded 49ers (15-18), who face top-seeded UC Irvine in Friday’s semifinals.
Noah Allen had 21 points and Gibson Johnson 18 for the fifth-seeded Rainbow Warriors (14-16), who beat LBSU in the last two tournaments, including the championship game last season. Long Beach won 84-75 to close the regular season last weekend.
Hawaii had a 35-33 lead at the half, when Allen had 14 points and Bibbins 19. The game was tied at 54 on a Johnson basket with 9:08 to play. Bibbins then hit a jumper to start a 10-0 run that the 49ers turned into a game-winning 19-1 run before Hawaii scored the last six points of the game.
The Rainbow Warriors went 7:18 without a basket, missing eight-straight shots. They shot 30 percent in the second half while LBSU was at 58.
UH baseball on surge
The UH baseball team continued to produce at the plate. Logan Pouelsen homered and was one of eight different batters to collect hits in a 6-3 victory against Sacred Hearts in Honolulu, the Rainbow Warriors’ sixth victory in seven games.
Dominic DeMiero (3-0) rebounded after getting dinged in the second inning, allowing nine hits and three runs in 5 2/3 inning with a strikeout in the opener of a four-game series.
The Rainbow Warriors (7-5) took the lead in fourth. Pouelsen hit as two-run homer, Jonathan Weeks led off with a single, and later with two outs Ethan Lopez singled through the left side to score Marcus Doi, who reached on a hit, giving UH a 4-3 lead.
Dylan Vchulek and Kekai Riop had three hits apiece for Hawaii, and Doi was 2 for 3.
UH has tallied at least 11 hits in four its past five games.
Making his fourth start, DeMiero’s ERA rose to 2.20.
Matt Richardson pitched two scoreless innings, and Patrick Martin secured his second save, retiring all four batters he faced with a strikeout against the Pioneers (5-7).
Wahine lose pitcher’s duel
Utah’s Katie Donovan tossed a two-hit shutout with five strikeouts, retiring the last 10 UH batters in Honolulu, outdueling Brittany Hitchcock (7-6), who struck out five in her 10th complete game.
The No. 20 Utes (16-4) ended the Wahine’s four-game losing streak, dropping them to 12-9.