Hawaii 74, CS Northridge 71
HONOLULU (AP) — Christian Standhardinger scored 17 points, Isaac Fotu and Vander Joaquim posted double-doubles, and Hawaii rallied to beat CS Northridge 74-71 on Saturday night in the Big West Conference opener for both teams.
Standhardinger was 8 of 11 from the field and added eight rebounds for the Rainbow Warriors (7-5), who are joining the Big West after 33 seasons in the Western Athletic Conference. Fotu had 16 points, including what proved to be the game-winning layup with 42 seconds left, and 11 rebounds. Joaquim added 12 points and 11 boards.
Stephan Hicks tied his season high with 25 points for the Matadors (9-4), and Stephen Maxwell had 14 points and 10 rebounds. Landon Drew missed a tying 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Hawaii led 44-33 at halftime after a 25-3 first-half run, but Northridge rallied and the teams swapped leads before Joaquim's free throw with 1:06 left put the Warriors ahead for good.