Cal Poly falters in second half and lose at home by 20 to Hawai’i

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (KEYT) - Sophomore Hamad Mousa finished with a team leading 17 points Thursday evening, but the Cal Poly men’s basketball program was kept to its second lowest scoring output of the season during an 86-66 setback to Hawai’i inside Mott Athletics Center. 

Guard Peter Bandelj added 11 points for Cal Poly (7-12, 3-4), which trailed Hawai’i (13-3, 5-1) at the break, 41-36, before the Rainbow Warriors opened the second half with a 13-4 run. Hawai’i, ranked ninth among 361 NCAA Division I programs in points allowed per game, failed to relinquish its double-digit advantage the remainder of the night. 

Sophomore Cayden Ward (above) finished with 10 points and team best nine rebounds for Cal Poly. 

Hawai’i opened Thursday’s matchup shooting 66.7 (12-for-18) percent from the floor, but carved out just a 31-28 lead after 15 minutes. The Mustangs, who twice cut their deficit to a single point down the first-half stretch, faced their five-point gap heading into the locker room following a buzzer-beating jumper from Hawai’i forward Gytis Nemeikša.

Into the second half, Bandelj knocked down a jumper three minutes into action to help Cal Poly close its deficit to 46-40. Hawai’i, however, scored on its next three possessions to pull away. 

Cal Poly Noteworthy (versus Hawai’i)

Cal Poly kept three of the Big West’s top three scorers with Cayden Ward (15.0) ranked eighth and Peter Bandelj (14.8) in 10th.

Up Next: Cal Poly enjoys a week break before renewing its rivalry with UC Santa Barbara when visiting the Gauchos on Thursday, Jan. 22. Tip time from The Thunderdome is 6 p.m.

Hamad Mousa maintained his streak of double-digit scoring through all 18 appearances and retained the big West scoring lead at 21.6 points per game.

(Article courtesy of Cal Poly Athletics)