Associated Press
Associated Press
HONOLULU — A record-breaking night has the University of Hawaii men’s basketball team off to its best conference start in 11 years.
Brandon Jawato went 7 of 7 from 3-point range and scored all 21 of his points in the first half to lead the ‘Bows to a 76-61 victory against Cal Riverside on Saturday night.
Only cramps could cool Jawato down.
Jawato, a redshirt freshman from El Segundo, Calif., hit four straight shots from behind the arc for the Warriors (9-5, 3-0 Big West), while Cal Riverside shot just 1 of 9 from the floor, enabling Hawaii to build a 20-10 lead with 8:55 remaining in the first half. Suffering from cramps, Jawato did not see second-half action until 6:30 remained. He did not score again.
Still, he set a freshman from record for three-pointers made and tied a Big West and UH record for three-pointers without a miss.
Christian Standhardinger added 17 points, Vander Joaquim 11 points and 11 rebounds and Isaac Fotu 10 points for Hawaii, which led 40-21 at halftime. UH pulled away with 14 straight points, nine courtesy of Jawato 3s. Behind his hot hand, the ‘Bows shot 60 percent from the floor in he first half.
Josh Fox led the Highlanders (4-11, 1-2) with 12 points, and Dayton Boddie and Tre Owens added 10 each.
Owens hit two 3-pointers in the second half, with the first ending a 0 for 24 streak for UC Riverside from beyond the arc.
Hawaii 65, Cal Riverside 50: Hilo High graduate Vicky Tagalicod came off the bench to score 11 points with five rebounds as the Wahine won in California.
Shawna-Lei Kuehu came off the bench to score a season-high 14 points and leading scorer Kamilah Martin added 13 for UH (5-8, 1-1).
Tagalicod and Kuehu helped Hawaii’s bench outscore its counterpart 38-10.
TreShont Nottingham scored 14 points for the Highlanders (7-6, 0-2), who were held to 17 points below their average, committed 20 turnovers and shot only 35 percent.
The teams combined for only four 3-pointers.