HONOLULU – Cal State Fullerton trailed by 17 points early in the first half and nearly erased that deficit, but the Titans could not keep pace with league-leading Hawai'i and suffered a 76-59 loss at the Stan Sheriff Center on Saturday night as Big West Conference Player of the Week Stefan Jankovic led the 'Bows with a near double-double of 16 points and nine rebounds.
In front of 8,401 in attendance, Hawai'i notched its 20th win of the season and had five players reach double figures while knocking down eight buckets from long distance as a team.
UH's (20-3, 9-1 BWC) Aaron Valdes poured in 15 points to go along with 10 rebounds, and off the bench, Sai Tummala scored 11 points and grabbed 10 boards. In addition, Quicny Smith scored 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting which included two first-half three-pointers, while Roderick Bobbitt had an all-round game of 12 points, four assists and four steals.
Tre' Coggins scored a game-high 18 points for the Titans (9-15, 2-9 BWC), who have now lost three in a row and nine of their last 10.
Off the bench, Malcolm Brooks knocked down two three-pointers on his way to a 13-point effort, while Lionheart Leslie was the third Titan in double figures with 10 points shooting 6-of-9 from the free-throw line. Malcolm Henderson set a new career best with eight rebounds while Tim Myles matched his career high snarling nine boards.
The 'Bows held a 40-31 advantage at halftime, but that nine-point, single-digit lead had been cut down after an early start by UH.
Hawai'i pulled away early from Cal State Fullerton as the 'Bows pieced together a 13-0 run over four minutes to balloon their lead to 20-3 with 11:43 left to play during the first half. UH shot 50.0 percent from the floor during the first eight minutes of the contest, while the Titans committed four turnovers.
The game looked as if could be decided early, but the Titans went on a 24-9 run and cut that advantage to 29-27 on a Coggins' three-pointer at the 4:56 mark. Coggins' trey was part of an offensive stretch that saw the Titans score on four consecutive possessions.
The Titans last trailed by single digits, 48-41, with 12:48 left to play after Leslie completed a three-point play.
Fullerton shot just 31.7 percent (19-of-60) from the floor, committed 13 turnovers and was outrebounded 48-42.
The 'Bows totaled 15 assists on 24 made baskets and shot 39.3 percent (24-of-61) from the floor.
After a three-game road swing, Fullerton returns to Titan Gym at 7 p.m., Wednesday to host UC Irvine. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3.