8-14 (2-7BWC)
Hawai'i
18-3 (7-1BWC)
Hawai'i Pulls Away in Second Half for 75-60 Win Over Cal Poly
2/6/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Hawai'i scored the first nine points of the second half to snap a 28-28 tie and pulled away for a 75-60 victory over Cal Poly in a Big West Conference men's basketball game Saturday night before the third sellout of the season in Mott Athletics Center and a national television audience (ESPNU).
Junior forward Stefan Jankovic tallied 19 points, senior guard Roderick Bobbitt added 15 and junior guard Aaron Valdes tallied 14 as the Rainbow Warriors improved to 18-3 for the season and 7-1 in Big West play.
Cal Poly had one double-digit scorer versus Hawaii -- senior guard Reese Morgan with 10, his 12th double-figure performance of the year -- and fell to 8-14 and 2-7.
The lead changed hands six times and the score was tied four times in the first half as the two teams settled for a 28-28 draw at intermission. Both teams led by as many as five points during the first 20 minutes of play.
In the second half, however, Bobbitt and Valdes hit three-pointers and Jankovic scored a layup and free throw as Hawai'i built a 37-28 advantage in the first three minutes after the break.
Cal Poly trimmed the deficit to two points, but the Rainbow Warriors put together another run,, this time 12 unanswered points, to take a 51-37 lead with 9:30 to play and never looked back as the Mustangs made just 26.5 percent of their second-half shots (nine of 34).
Hawaii's biggest lead was the final margin.
Hawai'i outrebounded Cal Poly 39-34, Jankovic leading the way with nine. Morgan had six for the Mustangs. Per usual, Cal Poly was stingy with turnovers, committing six -- second-lowest total of the season -- to Hawaii's 13, but the difference proved to be shooting percentages as the Mustangs made just one-third of their 63 floor shots, including eight of 28 from three-point range.
Hawai'i connected on 52 percent of its field goal attempts (26 of 50) and was six of 17 from long range.
Freshman guard Jaylen Shead contributed nine points and five assists for Cal Poly. Sophomore forward Luke Meikle (pictured at left), redshirt freshman Josh Martin (pictured above) and senior forward Brian Bennett each tallied eight points.
Cal Poly goes out on the road for its next two contests, visiting Long Beach State on Thursday night (ESPN3) and UC Riverside on Saturday night (Fox Sports West).
Photos courtesy of Ray Ambler | RA Photos
