One down, 19 to go.

The University of Hawaiʻi men's basketball team began Big West conference play on Saturday with a frustrating 76-68 loss to the Long Beach State Beach at Walter Pyramid.

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Marcus Greene led the 'Bows with 17 points on 7-of-17 shooting. He was followed by 14 from Gytis Nemeikša in his first start as a Rainbow Warrior. Akira Jacobs had 11 and was 3-of-4 from 3-point range, and Tanner Christensen logged a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds in the loss.

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Devin Askew was the man of the hour for Long Beach State with 28 points and a game-high seven assists. He was followed by 14 from Austin Johnson and TJ Wainwright with Johnson posting 10 rebounds for a double-double. Kam Martin chipped in 10 in the win.

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Christensen drew first blood, and it was back and forth in the first stanza. UH had grabbed control early before Long Beach demanded control and took it themselves.

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UH briefly retained control to the tune of an 11-0 run with under 10 minutes remaining and took as much as a 7-point lead. At one point, UH made five field goals in a row, but their lead was ultimately wiped out.

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Long Beach returned the favor to UH with an 11-0 run of their own and would ultimately never surrender the lead with 3:33 remaining in the first half. At halftime, it was 37-32, Long Beach State, after Askew stung Hawaiʻi with a triple with six seconds remaining.

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Long Beach State kept the fire burning in the second half. They maintained a lead of seven until the 13-minute mark. Turnovers proved to be a big holdback for the 'Bows, as they committed 17 overall to Long Beach's 11.

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A Nemeikša triple with 13:04 remaining put UH down four, 47-43, but Askew ruined any hope of a UH comeback with a drive-in layup on the next possession. Long Beach scored the next seven unanswered and pulled away.

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UH got a last hurrah with a Nemeikša second-chance jumper that went with a second left for the final arithmetic.

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UH falls to 0-1 in Big West play and 5-3 overall. Their next conference game will not be until Jan. 2, 2025, against UC Santa Barbara. For now, UH will return home and back to non-conference play with a matchup against the Texas A&M - Corpus Christi Islanders on Saturday, Dec. 14 at 7 pm HST at the Stan Sheriff Center. You can watch the game on Spectrum Sports or listen on ESPN Honolulu.