UH at LBSU (1/31/26)
After a disappointing 11-point loss at UC Irvine, the University of Hawaiʻi Men's Basketball team survived a scrappy rally from the Long Beach State Beach and won, 89-82, at the Long Beach State Financial Credit Union Pyramid on Saturday! UH now improves to 8-3 in the Big West standings and are a half-game out of first place UC Irvine!
Dre Bullock led UH with 26 points and nine rebounds on 10-of-17 shooting! Isaac Finlinson followed with 19 points on 6-of-9 shooting and was 3-of-4 from 3-point range. Isaac Johnson added 14 points of his own as well.
Shaquil Bender and Petar Majstorovic led Long Beach State with 22 points each with Bender going 4-of-7 from 3-point range.
Both teams were close out of the gates, but Long Beach's Bender started out with four straight made triples and gave LBSU a 9-point lead early. A flagrant foul on Dallas Washington resulted in two made free throws from UH's Johnson, and LBSU's lead did not last long.
Johnson's two made free throws were part of a 13-2 Hawaiʻi run. UH took the lead off of two made free throws by Harry Rouhliadeff.
Long Beach did not fold and still kept things close with UH. They would even retake the lead off a Washington triple with 4:11 remaining.
UH retook the lead for good with 1:34 to go off of two more Johnson free throws. That was part of an 8-0 UH run to end the first half! At halftime, UH erased a 3-point gap and took a 5-point lead, 36-31.
Long Beach began the second half with a bit of fire! They scored four of the first six points and cut UH's gap to just three off a Leopold Levillain driving layup.
Bullock took control of things for the 'Bows and ignited a 10-0 run. Finlinson buried a couple of triples as part of that run! UH was able to balloon its lead to 15 off a Johnson triple with 8:16 remaining.
Long Beach refused to fold and began to chip away at that lead. Their only hiccup was a technical foul on Majstorovic with 6:52 remaining when LBSU had cut the gap to 10, 70-60.
Long Beach continued to dig and cut UH's gap down to five with 1:39 to go off a Majstorovic layup.
Two more made Majstorovic free throws put LBSU down one with 54 seconds left, but UH thankfully answered the bell.
Bullock buried a step-back jumper with 28 seconds to go to put UH back up three, but it was far from over. On the next possession, UH got a lucky break when LBSU's Bender turned it over with 13 seconds left. Bullock and Johnson buried UH's final four free throws for the final score.
UH improves to 16-5 in the 2025-26 season. UH will return home for a single game against the UC San Diego Tritons on Saturday, Feb. 7. Tipoff at the Stan Sheriff Center is scheduled for 7 p.m. HST, and you can watch the game on Spectrum Sports or listen on the radio at ESPN Honolulu.
