J.J. Jenkins
sports@mustangdaily.net
The rout was on almost from the beginning.
The Mustangs trailed 4-0 three minutes into the game, then went on a 14-0 run and never looked back. Cal Poly (8-9) beat Hawaii (10-9) 88-59 and moved to 4-3 in Big West Conference play while the Warriors fell to an even 4-4.
The win ended a three-game losing streak for the Mustangs, who lost on a buzzer beater at UC Davis and in double overtime at UC Santa Barbara.
Cal Poly tried to match Hawaii’s big starting lineup by putting Drake U’u at point guard rather than the smaller Jamal Johnson. Head coach Joe Callero’s move paid dividends in the first part of the game before the Mustangs began rotating in their smaller guards.
“The team played well with (U’u),” Callero said. “It’s not a demerit for (Johnson), it’s a pay raise for Drake. It’s really given (the team) a spark and some size in defensive matchups.”
He plans to keep U’u, who had eight assists and one turnover on Thursday, in the starting lineup in future games.
“It’s nice to start, but my mentality for the past couple weeks has been to be more aggressive from the start when I get in the game,” he said. “I’ve adopted that entire mentality of getting to the rim and being aggressive because when I’m aggressive good things start happening.”
Cal Poly had four players in double-figures, including U’u and freshman center Brian Bennett, both of whom had career highs in points. Bennett also had a career high with nine rebounds, which led the team. Cal Poly outrebounded the bigger Hawaii squad 38 to 21.
The Mustangs continued to feed Reese Morgan and his hot hand on Thursday night, as he scored 16 points and was 4 of 8 from beyond the arc. Over the last two games, which he has started, 33 of his 42 points have come from 3-point range.
The Warriors attempted to smother Morgan in the early going, but after Bennett began making his presence felt inside, Morgan found himself open and sunk consecutive 3-pointers that stretched the Mustangs’ lead to 22-12 with 8:10 remaining in the first half.
“As you adjust to college basketball, you’ve got to learn what shots are open, where they’re going to be open and how to get open,” Morgan said. “My teammates have been doing a great job in getting me open.”
Chris Eversley led the Mustangs in points with 19 while going 2 of 2 from beyond the arc in 31 minutes of playing time.
The victory marks the eighth consecutive Big West win inside the newly renamed Mott Athletic Center for Cal Poly. The Mustangs also set season highs in field goal percentage against Division I opponents and 3-pointers hit (11).
Cal Poly will face Cal State Northridge, which notched its first conference win at UC Santa Barbara on Thursday night, at home on Saturday night at 7 p.m.