LIHU‘E — The University of Hawai‘i men’s basketball team won its third straight game with a 67-61 victory over San Jose State Saturday night at the Stan Sheriff Center. The Rainbow Warriors improved to 12-8 overall and 3-5 in the
LIHU‘E — The University of Hawai‘i men’s basketball team won its third straight game with a 67-61 victory over San Jose State Saturday night at the Stan Sheriff Center. The Rainbow Warriors improved to 12-8 overall and 3-5 in the Western Athletic Conference.
The ’Bows got a pair of big performances from Bill Amis and Joston Thomas and played stellar defense once again to help fuel the win, states a release from the UH athletic department.
The win marked the first time UH won three straight league games since 2008.
Amis finished with 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting, while also adding nine rebounds and four blocks. Thomas recorded his first career double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds.
Meanwhile, UH held San Jose State (9-9, 1-6 WAC) to just 31 percent shooting, a season-low for the Spartans. The ’Bows also keyed in on Adrian Oliver, the nation’s third-leading scorer, holding him to a season-low 10 points.
Oliver, who entered the game averaging more than 24 points a game, was held to just 4-of-11 shooting and scored just one point in the first half.
It was a tight game early on, but UH went on a key 16-3 run to turn a three-point deficit into a 31-21 lead. The ’Bows eventually took a 31-24 lead into the locker room after holding the Spartans to just 20 percent shooting in the first half.
UH would not trail again, however the Spartans did chip away at the UH lead and eventually pulled within one, 53-52, with a little under seven minutes remaining.
However, UH shut the door on the Spartans with an 8-1 run that pushed the cushion to eight points.
UH concludes its three-game homestand with a showdown with league-leading Utah State on Saturday, Jan. 29.
Tipoff is 7:00 p.m. at the Stan Sheriff Center.
