Big wins for Rainbow Warriors, Wahine over Mustangs

Kamaka Hepa poured in 29 points, and the University of Hawaii men’s basketball team downed Cal Poly 69-56 on Saturday in San Luis Obispo, Calif.

On a night during which the top three Big West teams fell, the Rainbow Warriors (17-7, 8-4 Big West) moved into a tie for third-place in the conference standings while moving just 1 1/2 games out of first place.

Hepa finished just one point shy of his career high and also added a team-high six rebounds. Samuta Avea chipped in 18 points and JoVon McClanahan added nine points and six assists for Hawaii, which led 36-25 at halftime and held a double-digit advantage for most of the second half.

The Warriors had a stellar night from the free-throw line, finishing 23 of 24.

Alimamy Koroma had 17 points to lead the Mustangs (7-17, 1-11).

In Honolulu on Saturday night, the UH women’s basketball team got off to a hot start and cruised to an 8058 win over Cal Poly at the Stan Sheriff Center.

The Rainbow Wahine (912, 7-5) started the game on a 24-4 run featuring five 3-pointers — including three from Meilani McBee — en route to posting their highest point total of the season.

The Mustangs briefly closed within eight points in the second quarter before UH recovered and led 4626 at the half. The Wahine’s lead never dipped below 20 the rest of the game, going ahead by as many as 32 points in the fourth quarter.

Kallin Spiller led UH with 19 points and seven rebounds, and McBee finished with 13 points. Daejah Phillips scored 12 points, McKenna Haire added 11 and Lily Wahinekapu had 10 points and seven assists.

Oumou Toure led the Mustangs (6-14, 3-9) with 14 points.

UH next plays UC San Diego, the men at home and the women on the road.