MANOA — University of Hawai‘i men’s basketball players Junior Madut and Justin Webster were the only players to score in double figures, but the effort was enough to overhaul the University of California-Irvine 62-61 Saturday afternoon in an overtime thriller at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
The ‘Bows dealt the Anteaters their first Mountain West Conference loss.
The Bows’ (5-5, 3-5 Mountain West Conference) split the series with the Anteaters (9-5, 5-1), falling 53-51 Friday afternoon, and didn’t beat UC Irvine with a lot of scoring distribution on Saturday.
Madut finished with a team-high and career-high 22 Saturday, Webster contributed 16, and the two combined to score over half of the team’s points in the winning effort.
The team held the Anteaters’ leading scorers in check. Collin Welp and Brad Greene were the only players to score in double figures in the second contest.
Welp finished with a team-high 20, and Greene finished with 16. The duo combined for a little under half of the Anteaters’ scoring output.
Hawai‘i only had the lead for 17 minutes in the game, and recorded 11 steals. The Anteaters had six steals.
In the Friday game, Hawai’i struggled to prevent the Anteaters from scoring in the paint.
The inability to prevent Irvine from getting high-percentage baskets was the difference. The Anteaters outscored the ‘Bows 44-22 in the paint.
UC-Irvine’s leading scorer Brad Greene was the main contributing factor in the Anteaters’ victory. Greene was the only player to score in double figures, with a game-high 18 points.
Casdon Jardine led the ‘Bows with 14 points, and James Jean-Marie finished with 12.
Justin Webster, the ‘Bows leading scorer, was held to nine points, a season low.
Hawai‘i travels to UC-San Diego for a two-game conference series, at 3 p.m. Friday and Saturday at RIMAC Arena in La Jolla, California.
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Jason Blasco, reporter, can be reached at 245-0437 or jblasco@thegardenisland.com.
