Short-handed Rainbow Warriors rally, beat Tritons in OT

Justin McCoy had 22 points to lead six scorers in double figures, and the University of Hawaii men’s basketball team knocked off one of the Big West Conference leaders in UC San Diego, 94-86 in overtime on Thursday night at the Stan Sheriff Center.

After trailing for most of the first half, which ended with the Tritons up 37-34, the Rainbow Warriors (1311, 5-7 Big West) battled back in the second half and led by six with about nine minutes remaining.

UCSD (15-9, 9-3) went on an 8-0 run to take a 6663 lead with 5:17 left, and still led 78-74 with just over a minute remaining. McKoy made one of two free throws, and after the Tritons missed a layup on the other end, Juan Munoz drained a 3-pointer with 11 seconds left to tie it up at 78-78 and force overtime.

Ryan Rapp hit two 3s and Noel Coleman added a pair of driving layups in overtime to help UH pull off the upset.

McKoy added nine rebounds, four assists and three blocks for Hawaii, which played without guard JoVon McClanahan, who injured his shoulder during practice. Coleman finished with 16 points, Rapp and Kody Williams each scored 13, and Munoz and Bernardo da Silva both chipped in 10 points.

Earlier Thursday in La Jolla, Calif., Lily Wahinekapu hit four 3-pointers and finished with 16 points as the conference-leading UH women’s basketball team earned a wire-to-wire win over UC San Diego 64-52.

Wahinekapu also had seven rebounds and four assists for the Rainbow Wahine (13-8, 10-2 Big West), who matched a season best with their fourth straight win.

Daejah Phillips added 11 points and eight rebounds off the bench, and Imani Perez had 10 points for UH, which scored 18 points off turnovers compared to nine for UCSD (10-13, 6-6).

UH plays UC Davis on Saturday, the women on the road and the men at home.