UH @ Cal Poly (1/15/26)
The University of Hawaiʻi Men's Basketball team got back in the win column over the Cal Poly Mustangs, 86-66, on Thursday at Mott Athletics Center in San Luis Obispo, California!
Gytis Nemeikša led the 'Bows with 21 points off the bench on 10-of-15 shooting and added 11 rebounds for a double-double! Dre Bullock was next with 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting and had a career-high six steals. Hunter Erickson added 15 and was 3-of-6 from 3-point range; Isaac Johnson rounded out the double-digit scorers with 11 points and five rebounds!
The Mustangs were led by Hamad Mousa with 17 points on 6-of-19 shooting, but he had six of Cal Poly's 23 total turnovers. Peter Bandelj added 11 of his own and five rebounds, and Cayden Ward chipped in 10 points and a team-high nine rebounds in the loss!
Johnson began with the first bucket of the game, and UH turned that into six of the first eight points scored.
Despite 10 turnovers committed as a team, UH did well in other categories. Bullock had two of UH's five steals, and Erickson drained both of UH's triples in the first half.
Cal Poly took the lead briefly with over 12 minutes left, but UH answered back via Isaac Finlinson, who made a layup off a Cal Poly turnover and was fouled in the process. Finlinson completed the three-point play, and UH managed to keep the lead the rest of the first half.
Just like last Saturday night against UC Irvine, UH sank a buzzer beater, and Nemeikša was the man for the job this time!
At halftime, UH took a good 41-36 lead over Cal Poly. Erickson led UH and all players with 10 points while Cal Poly had three players lead their scoring column with just eight points.
Erickson drew first blood to begin the second half. It turned into a 13-4 UH run, which included eight unanswered. Just like that, UH was then up double-digits, 51-40, by the first media timeout. That included a Bullock steal and an authoritative slam dunk!
From that point forward, UH controlled all the cards and never let their gap dip under 10! It was a much better second half for UH, as they committed just five turnovers, 15 overall.
UH improves to 13-3 in the 2025-26 season, and 5-1 in Big West play. They are now tied with UC Irvine for the top spot on the leaderboard. UH will conclude its road trip with a matchup against the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos on Saturday, Jan. 17. Tipoff at the Thunderdome is scheduled for 4 p.m. HST, and you can listen to the game on ESPN Honolulu.
