Rainbows hold on

Hawaii beats Long Beach State to head into a break on a winning note

STORY SUMMARY »

Hawaii took full advantage of Long Beach State's mistakes to build a controlling lead in last night's contest at the Stan Sheriff Center.

HAWAII    BSU 61 57 NEXT UP vs. Louisiana Lafayette on Dec. 19

The Rainbow Warriors were then able to overcome a few of their own down the stretch to hold off a 49ers comeback.

The Rainbow offense wobbled in the final minutes, but Hawaii did enough on defense to hold on to a 61-57 win before a crowd of 3,240.

The 'Bows built a 16-point lead over the turnover-prone 49ers in the second half, but didn't score in the game's final 3 minutes as LBSU rallied.

But they managed to shut the 49ers out after LBSU closed to within four with 2 minutes left.

"When we needed to make stops, when we needed to get a rebound in the last 3 minutes we got it," Bob Nash said.

Riley Luettgerodt led Hawaii with 13 points and eight rebounds. Matt Gibson had 12 points and Bobby Nash finished with 11.

Hawaii's 15 steals also marked a season best as nearly half of the Rainbows' points (30) came off Long Beach State turnovers.

Long Beach State ended the night with 24 turnovers as the Rainbows overcame a career night by 49ers guard Donovan Morris, who scored a game-high 24 points.

The Rainbows improved to 3-4 heading into a 10-day break leading up to the Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic.

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It wasn't always pretty. But in the end, the Hawaii basketball team got what it needed last night.

The Rainbow Warriors took advantage of Long Beach State's miscues to build a lead, then had to sweat out a 49ers rally to score a 61-57 victory at the Stan Sheriff Center.

In an often ragged contest, Hawaii scored 30 points off of Long Beach State turnovers and led by as many as 16 in the second half.

The Rainbows (3-4) scored their final point with 3:26 left in the game as the 49ers cut the deficit to four. But Hawaii shut out Long Beach State (2-6) down the stretch before a crowd of 3,240.

"I thought we did what we needed to do," Hawaii senior Bobby Nash said. "We pressured them and got into them and sometimes you have to win ugly, but it's a win at the end of the night."

On the eve of the start of finals week on the Manoa campus, the Rainbows passed the first test of their six-game homestand and have 10 days to prepare for the Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic.

"All we wanted to do was pass, and we did that," UH head coach Bob Nash said.

While stingy on the defensive end last night, the Rainbows showed a willingness to share on offense, dishing out a season-high 23 assists on 25 made baskets.

For the second straight year, Riley Luettgerodt led Hawaii in a victory over Long Beach State. The senior guard, who scored a career-high 23 points in UH's win in Long Beach last February, paced a balanced attack with 13 points and eight rebounds.

Matt Gibson finished with 12 points and Nash contributed 11. They also shared high-assist honors with five each.

Long Beach State guard Donovan Morris -- a Fresno State transfer who averaged 17 points in his two previous appearances in the Sheriff Center -- continued his hot shooting against Hawaii in scoring a career-high 24 points, 14 coming in the first half.

But Bob Nash was pleased with the effort on defense as the Rainbows limited the 49ers' other weapons and swiped a season-high 15 steals in forcing 24 Long Beach State turnovers.

LBSU forward Brian Freeman had nine points in the first half, but didn't attempt a shot after the break.

"I'm real proud of the way our team played good, solid man-to-man defense tonight," Nash said. "I thought there were pockets where we played as good defense as we've played all year long.

"To see the growth that our guys made from the San Diego game (an 81-67 loss) to this game was good. (LBSU) ran a lot of the same stuff, but you couldn't tell because we got up in them."

Hawaii scored 19 points off of turnovers in the first half and led 36-30 at the break. The Rainbows then went on a 10-0 run midway through the second half to open their biggest lead of the night at 54-38.

"My biggest concern was taking care of the ball against their pressure and not give them second chances and we obviously failed in both those areas," Long Beach State coach Dan Monson said.

After the 49ers chipped away, the Rainbows again opened a double-digit margin when Luettgerodt knocked down a jumper from the wing to put UH ahead 61-51 with 3:26 left in the game.

That would be Hawaii's last basket of the night, and the 49ers closed the gap on a 3-pointer by Maurice Clady. Morris then turned in a more traditional three-point play by driving for a layup while being fouled. His free throw with 2:05 left closed out the scoring.