Hawaiʻi men's basketball drops heartbreaker to UC Davis Aggies
'Bows miss two chances at overtime and fall again at UC Davis
Despite a career-high 21 points from Harry Rouhliadeff, the University of Hawaiʻi Men's Basketball team still came out the losers in a 68-66 decision to the UC Davis Aggies at the University Credit Union Center on Thursday. This marks five losses in a row at UC Davis, dating back to their last win in 2021.
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Tanner Christensen (11), Kody Williams (10), and Ryan Rapp (10) were the only other UH players to crack double-digits. Christensen logged a team-high eight rebounds.
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TY Johnson led the Aggies and all players with 23 points on 9-of-19 shooting. Pablo Tamba added 19 on 9-of-12 shooting, and newcomer Connor Sevilla added 11 while he went 3-of-5 from 3-point range.
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Williams drew first blood via a triple to put UH on the board the quickest, but Davis was only getting warmed up.
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Behind the leadership of Tamba and Johnson, UC Davis was able to enjoy as much as an 8-point lead in the first half. Sevilla also banked an occasional triple to keep Davis in front.
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UH hit their stride as well, but they did not let UCD get away. Aaron Hunkin-Claytor would hit a long-range triple with 3:22 remaining to tie things at 21 all.
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Unfortunately, Davis got some momentum off a Leo Debruhl layup at the buzzer, and UH found themselves behind, 25-23, at halftime. It was a decent first half for UH, as they committed six turnovers, but Davis committed just two.
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UH came out of the locker rooms with an immediate 17-4 run with Rouhliadeff doing most of the scoring. Rouhliadeff and Williams hit back-to-back triples to put UH in front for the first time since very early in the first half.
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UH would pull out their lead to as many as four, but they could not attain it. A Christensen dunk with 8:52 remaining was UH's last field goal for over five minutes. Davis went on a 13-4 run while UH could not buy a bucket until Marcus Greene sank a triple with 2:22 remaining to tie the score at 63.
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UH's final few points came at the free throw line. With eight seconds remaining, Williams was the victim of a costly lost ball turnover, which turned into a Rapp foul and two shots for UCD's Johnson.
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After Johnson went 1-of-2 at the free throw line, UH had one last chance at overtime or the win; they chose to go for overtime. Both Greene and Christensen would miss two final layups which ultimately sent UH home the losers.
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UH drops to 12-7 overall and 4-4 in Big West play, but they have one last chance to get a road win this week. They will take on the first place UC Irvine Anteaters at the Bren Events Center on Saturday, Jan. 25 at 5 p.m. HST. You can listen to that game on ESPN Honolulu.