HONOLULU— The University of Hawai‘i men’s basketball team is still searching for consistency after the team dropped back-to-back Big West Conference games to California State University-Bakersfield Friday and Saturday afternoons at SimpliFi Arena in Stan Sheriff Center.
The Warriors hosted the Roadrunners for their conference home openers, and lost 60-55 and 83-72, respectively.
Though the Warriors (3-3, 2-2) have played a total of only four Big West games, just half of their California-based opponents, coach Eran Ganot is ready to let his team off the hook for their performance.
“Hopefully, we saw something we can learn from,” Ganot said. “This is certainly a tough time at the moment. I thought we came out ready to go, but our consistency has been tough for us. It’s been a challenge, and obviously (Bakersfield) has the maturity and the professionalism that they were able to fight back.”
Ganot added: “I look forward to getting ready for this week and getting back to work.”
During the non-conference portion of the Warriors’ schedule, they struggled to build momentum in the first half of the games, and in the series against the Roadrunners the team continued its first-half struggles.
Led by some of their offensive leading scorers, Hawai‘i narrowed the halftime deficit to 28-23 Friday.
Junior Madot had a team-high 12 points and 10 rebounds.
James Jean-Marie finished with 11 points, and Mate Colina was the other Hawai‘i player to score in double figures, netting 10.
“I’ll keep it simple because it was a disappointing loss, and it was disappointing this week here,” Ganot said in a post-game press conference. “Credit to the Bakersfield coach and their entire program. We can certainly learn from them.”
The Warriors continued to struggle to get off to a fast start during Saturday’s game.
Bakersfield, a team that has only been a member of NCAA Division I basketball since 2011, raced out to a 9-0 lead and proceeded to retain momentum throughout the entire game.
The Warriors struggled to contain Justin Edler-Davis, who finished with 22 points and seven rebounds to help CSU Bakersfield defeat Hawai‘i Saturday, giving the Roadrunners their fifth-consecutive conference win.
The Roadrunners’ Edler-Davis shot 50% from three-point range in the second game, as the Roadrunners starting five all scored in double figures.
Taze Moore finished with 16, and Shaun Williams and Shawn Stith scored 11 each in a series that should allow the Roadrunners to own one of the top spots in the Big West Conference.
“Our defense has been a hallmark for us, and (during the game) our rebounding cut the deficit to seven points, but when you go plus three or four to minus 20, particularly in the second half, you don’t give yourself much of a chance to fight back,” Ganot said.
Ganot blamed himself for the back-to-back losses.
“I have to do a way better job of coaching,” Ganot said. “I have great faith in our players, and we will just have to look inward because it starts with us. Our staff has been doing a great job. I have to be able to get our job to gel. Given the perimeters, it’s been a great challenge, and I look forward to continuing to compete.
“We continue to press forward to keep competing,” Ganot said. “We’ve dealt with some adversity, and this game was very humbling and very hard. You have to fight, and I am looking forward to continuing to fight.”
This week, Hawai‘i hosts the UC Irvine Anteaters for another back-to-back series, with both games at 3 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
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Jason Blasco, reporter, can be reached at 245-0437 or jblasco@thegardenisland.com.
