Hawaii’s comeback falls short in loss to Fullerton

The Hawaii basketball team’s frenetic comeback attempt fell short in Saturday’s 63-61 overtime loss to Cal State Fullerton in SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.

A crowd of 3,688 saw Justin McKoy’s turnaround 3-point attempt from the left corner sail past the rim as time expired in the extra period.

“Really disappointed in the loss,” UH coach Eran Ganot said. “Obviously, we’re in one of those moments as a group that will test us. If we are what we think we are, we’ll be fine.”

The outcome ended the ’Bows’ streak of winning five Big West openers in a row. The ’Bows dropped to 8-6 with their third straight loss.

It was 63-60 when UH point guard JoVon McClanahan was fouled attempting a 3. But McClanahan missed the first two free throws before hitting the third.

CSUF guard DJ Brewton was fouled but missed both free throws with 15.4 seconds to go. That led to the final UH sequence.

UH’s two-option plan was for guard Juan Munoz to launch the winning 3 or to feed McKoy in the post. Under pressure, Munoz threw to McKoy, who was being heavily guarded by Beril Kabamba. The ball was knocked free, and then secured by McKoy in the left corner. But McKoy, who hit back-to-back 3s to open the second half, could not find the mark. Brewton grabbed the rebound as the final horn sounded.

“We play defense,” CSUF guard Tory San Antonio said. “That’s the identity we built for ourselves. We’d just rather be on the defensive end to grind and finish out the game.”

While the ’Bows’ final shot was too long, their last attempt of regulation was too late.

It was 56-all when Brewton missed a jumper with four seconds left in the second half. UH rebounded, and McClanahan launched a shot from three-quarters the length of the court. The shot was true, but it left McClanahan’s hands after the game clock sounded, forcing overtime.

Ganot said the ’Bows had to overcome mistakes (17 turnovers that led to 19 CSUF points), six missed free throws after the intermission, and 34.6% first-half shooting.

“In close games and big battles, we have to be better there,” Ganot said.

The Titans were without guard Max Jones, who suffered leg injuries in the second half of Thursday’s loss to Long Beach State. Jones, who is averaging 17.1 points per game, also was the Titans’ leader in drawing fouls and attempting free throws.

The Titans went with their usual divide-and-conquer approach, spreading their offense to open the way for drives into the lane. Of their 25 first-half shots, 21 were launched from inside the arc. Grayson Carper hit all three of the Titans’ 3s in the first half.

Meanwhile, the ’Bows missed several open shots in the first half, including nine of 10 from behind the arc, and trailed 27-18 with 43 seconds to play.

“We’re not one-dimensional,” Ganot said. “We don’t live and die by the 3. For the most part, we defend. We should be good on the boards. We take care of the ball. We get to the line. We’re a high free-throw-rate team. What we’ve seen so far from this year’s group … when we miss shots, we go straight iso ball, which is completely in the hands of (the Titans).”

UH guard Noel Coleman reached the 1,000-point milestone as a ’Bow. Coleman scored seven points in the first half, two on reverse layups off baseline drives. But his final basket came with 6:18 left in the first half. He was 0-for-4 after the intermission. San Antonio mostly covered Coleman, although he switched off to defend the post.

“At the end of the day, you’re talking about the returning Defensive Player of the Year,” CSUF coach Dedrick Taylor said. “I think he put his signature on that game, and that’s the bottom line. … He’s our backbone. He does everything for our group.”

San Antonio said Coleman is “a great player He’s going to keep getting better. After that first block, I told him it wasn’t going to be easy for him.”

UH’s Bernardo da Silva scored all 15 of his points after the intermission.