LIHU‘E — Behind the hot hand of junior guard Zane Johnson, the University of Hawai‘i men’s basketball team defeated UC Davis, 83-69, Saturday afternoon at The Pavilion in Davis, Calif. Johnson poured in a career-high 32 points, including nine 3-pointers,
LIHU‘E — Behind the hot hand of junior guard Zane Johnson, the University of Hawai‘i men’s basketball team defeated UC Davis, 83-69, Saturday afternoon at The Pavilion in Davis, Calif.
Johnson poured in a career-high 32 points, including nine 3-pointers, to lift UH (15-10) to its third road win in its last four tries, states a release from the UH athletic department.
Johnson scored 19 of his points in the second half, including a half dozen 3-pointers to help UH pull away from the Aggies (9-17) after clinging to just a one-point lead at halftime. Johnson’s nine three pointers fell just one shy of the school record of 10 set by Trevor Ruffin in 1993.
UH also got a strong effort from its frontcourt of Bill Amis (20 points) and Vander Joaquim (14 points). Meanwhile, Jeremiah Ostrowski ably filled in for an injured Hiram Thompson, tallying nine points and seven assists in his first career start.
The ‘Bows shot a scorching 61 percent in winning its first non-conference road game after a string of six straight losses dating back to since 2007. UH’s last non-conference road win came at Long Beach State, which was also the last time it won a designated ESPN BracketBusters matchup.
The Rainbow Warriors needed all the offense they could muster against an Aggie squad that buried 10 3-pointers. UH, however, clamped down on the Aggies after halftime, holding them to just 37 percent shooting in the second half.
The first half was a shootout for both sids. The ‘Bows got the upper hand early, scoring 13 unanswered points to go up 15-3 in the opening minutes. UCD stayed in the game with the long ball, nailing seven 3-pointers as UH held a slim 38-37 lead at the break.
UH went on a 16-4 run to start the second half to again go up by double digits. The Aggies would get no closer than six points after that. Johnson effectively shut the door on the Aggies with back-to-back 3-pointers giving UH a 16-point lead with five minutes left.
UH next returns to Honolulu for its final two home games of the season against Louisiana Tech (Thursday) and New Mexico State (Saturday).
Game story provided by University of Hawai‘i athletic department.
