Cal State Northridge played spoiler to Hawaii’s senior night, as the Matadors stunned the Rainbow Warriors 84-73 Saturday at the Stan Sheriff Center.
A season-high “white-out” crowd of 5,065 saw CSUN guard Terrell Gomez drop 32 points on 11-for-21 shooting and forward Lamine Diane another 25 going 12-for-21 from the floor. Gomez hit a number of tough shots late to secure the road victory.
UH (16-12, 7-7 Big West) dropped into a three-way tie for fourth place with the Matadors (13-17, 7-7) and UC Davis with two road games to play before the Big West tournament.
Only a blistering shooting performance by senior forward Jack Purchase kept the Rainbow Warriors within striking distance in the first half. Purchase shot 6-for-8 on 3s and totaled 20 points in the period. UH still trailed by five at intermission.
Guard Brocke Stepteau scored 10 in his final home game at the Sheriff and fellow senior Sheriff Drammeh added three points.
Point guard Drew Buggs was in doubt for the game because of an ankle injury he suffered in the team’s 88-80 loss at Cal Poly a week earlier. But Buggs started without incident. His three-point play in the final seconds of the first half brought the ‘Bows within 39-34 at halftime.
Samuta Avea’s flip shot gave UH a six-point second-half lead, but Diane came back with a mid-range jumper and Rodney Henderson Jr. followed with a basket and Diane dunked off a turnover to tie it at 52.
Eddie Stansberry tied it up for the last time at 60 on a 3-pointer. CSUN rode Gomez’s hot hand. He splashed a contested wing trey for a 77-69 lead with 2:30 left.
UH got a steal and layup by Drammeh to make it a six-point game with 1:39 left. But Cameron Gottfried hit a corner 3, then took a charge on Purchase to seal it.