Hawaiʻi men's basketball falls at Long Beach State again

The University of Hawaiʻi Men's Basketball team battled hard but still found themselves the losers at Walter Pyramid against Long Beach State, 79-71, on Thursday.

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Justin McKoy recorded a career-high 22 points on 7-for-12 shooting and was 6-for-11 from 3-point range. Juan Munoz was next with 12 points off the bench, and Bernardo da Silva rounded out the double-digit scorers with 11.

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Marcus Tsohonis led the Beach with 20 points on 8-for-15 shooting. Jadon Jones was next with 19 and was a perfect 8-for-8 from the field, including 3-for-3 from 3-point range. Lessina Traore was next with 13, and Aboubacar Traore had 11.

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The first half saw an even start from both teams. McKoy was red hot from 3-point range, as he logged 11 points by the midway point of the first half.

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Long Beach State took it to UH early and seized control with two early runs of 11-0 and 12-0. Just about every shot LBSU took went in. They shot an astonishing 75% in the first half, including 3-for-3 from 3-point range, and committing just one turnover.

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McKoy gave UH some momentum with a triple at the buzzer to make 19 points by halftime. UH was still down, 45-28.

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The second half saw a bit of light, as UH cut the gap down to 15. Unfortunately, 15 was the closest UH could get until the closing stages.

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LBSU still made their shots efficiently and kept their lead above 20 points, but UH did not give up.

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UH still made a late surge and cut the gap down to eight points in the final minute, but that 21-point deficit was just too much. Despite nailing six triples in both halves, the shooting percentage was not good overall (32%), as they went 12-for-38 from 3-point range.

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The 'Bows now drop to 2-4 in Big West play and 10-8 overall. They will hope to split their road trip as they travel to UC San Diego on Saturday, Jan. 20 at 2 p.m. HST. You can listen to the game on ESPN Honolulu.