The short-handed Hawaii men’s basketball team came up big in a statement-making 98-71 victory over Cal State Bakersfield on Thursday night at Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.

A crowd of 2,991 saw the Rainbow Warriors control the post, the boards and eventually the Roadrunners to improve to 14-4 overall and 6-2 in the Big West. The ’Bows remained in a first-place tie with UC Irvine.

During Wednesday’s practice, UH point guard Aaron Hunkin-Claytor suffered a sprained left ankle. He was in a walking boot on Thursday night, although he said he expects a quick recovery. Isaac Finlinson replaced Hunkin-Claytor in the starting lineup, and wing Quandre “Dre” Bullock and guard Hunter Erickson opened in the UH backcourt.

Bullock produced his first UH double-double — 16 points and 12 rebounds — while also surpassing the 1,000-point mark in his Division I career. Bullock transferred from South Dakota last June.

“It was a good feeling,” Bullock said. “Shoutout to the crowd. They brought a lot of energy. We played hard. Everbody on the court stepped up.”

Isaiah Kerr, a transfer from Chico State, came off the bench to score a season-high 16 points. Kerr connected on five of nine shots. One of Kerr’s baskets came after he blocked a shot and went coast-to-coast for a layup. Post Harry Rouhliadeff also had a breakaway dunk for the ’Bows.

The ’Bows entered with two areas of concern. As one of the top rebounding teams in recent years. the ’Bows were out-boarded in the previous four games. They also wanted to maintain their free-throw opportunities, having averaged 24.4 attempts in the first 17 games. In a tightly officiated game, the ’Bows drew 24 fouls, leading to 34 free throws, of which they made 27.

The Roadrunners also were understaffed. They were without injured guards CJ Hardy and Jaden Alexander. Acting head coach Mike Scott said he held out Ronald Jessamy, who averaged 6.2 rebounds and had 40 blocks, as an injury precaution. Pierre Genesete, a 6-foot-11 post who can guard all five positions, picked up three fouls in the first half. He eventually fouled out. Tom Mark also was assessed two early fouls, including a technical, that limited his playing time.

“I think we were definitely trying to attack,” Kerr said. “Our rebounding coach Gib (Johnson) does a great job of telling us to crash every time and be on that.”

The ’Bows constructed a 53-26 rebounding advantage, including 17-5 on the offensive glass. Finlinson had five of the ’Bows’ offensive rebounds. The ’Bows made sure to keep 7-foot Isaac “Big Fish” Johnson, 6-10 Yacine Toumi or 6-9 Rouhliadeff in the post rotation.

“Their bigs were out, so we had to take advantage of what they do well,” UH defensive coordinator Rob Jones said. “They went small. We kept our bigs in there and had to do our thing on the boards.”

Scott said: “AJ George was 6-5 playing center tonight. Hawaii’s probably the biggest team in the league. It’s something we have to try to overcome.”

Kerr said the ’Bows embraced head coach Eran Ganot’s motto of “next man, every man.”

“It really sucks (Hunkin-Claytor) wasn’t able to play tonight. But we have such a deep team, every guy is capable of stepping up.”

CSUB guard Dailin Smith missed his first seven shots and finished 4-for-16 from the field. But he hit 20 of 25 free throws and finished with 28 points.

Thursday
Cal State Bakersfield at Hawaii, 7 p.m.
Cal Poly at UC Santa Barbara
UC San Diego at UC Davis
Long Beach State at Cal State Fullerton
UC Irvine at UC Riverside
Saturday
Cal State Northridge at Hawaii, 7 p.m.
UC Riverside at UC Davis
UC Santa Barbara at Long Beach State
Cal State Fullerton at Cal Poly
UC Irvine at UC San Diego
Thursday, Jan. 29
Hawaii at UC Irvine, 6 p.m.
Cal Poly at Cal State Bakersfield
UC Davis at Cal State Northridge
Long Beach State at UC Riverside
UC Santa Barbara at UC San Diego
Saturday, Jan. 31
Hawaii at Long Beach State, 11 a.m.
UC Davis at Cal State Bakersfield
Cal Poly at UC Riverside
UC San Diego at Cal State Northridge
Cal State Fullerton at UC Santa Barbara

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Hawaii Island police have opened an investigation into a structure fire that broke out Tuesday afternoon, Jan. 20, in the Captain Cook area.

Around 3:15 p.m., Kona patrol officers responded to a report of a fire on Kaohe Road.

When they arrived on scene, firefighters were working to extinguish the blaze, which had already fully engulfed the residence.

The fire was put out before 4 p.m., and no injuries were reported.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, but police say arson is not suspected.

The estimated cost of damages has not yet been determined.

Anyone with information is encouraged to contact Kona Patrol Officer Gerardo Ibarra at the department’s non-emergency line, (808) 935-3311, or by email at Gerardo.Ibarra@hawaiicounty.gov.

To make an anonymous tip, call island-wide CrimeStoppers at (808) 961-8300.

Copyright 2026 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Hawaii’s annual legislative session began Wednesday with lawmakers expressing deep concern about potential federal budget cuts and reacting to news that the attorney general will investigate a four-year-old bribery allegation.

Lawmakers described the mood as uncertain due to unpredictable politics in Washington and the looming investigation by the attorney general.

From the first speeches, Washington was top of mind for legislators.

“Everything that was a priority last year is this year, and we are still dealing with the uncertainty of Washington, D.C.,” said Senate President Ronald Kouchi during opening remarks.

“We’ve been divided by the American political system,” said Senate Minority Leader Brenton Awa. “If we can’t put our differences aside for simple dialogue, it shouldn’t matter if you’re red, white, blue, mahu. Recognize we are few and unless your name is (MMA fighter) Max Holloway, choosing to fight each other will only keep you standing for so long.”

House Speaker Nadine Nakamura said their work during the interim was influenced by decisions made by the federal government.

“As we go through the next several months, we’re going to be thrown all other, many other crazy ideas that some will, you know, some be implemented and some will not. So it’s a very fluid situation,” she said.

“Every week the president does something crazy, and then it’s state legislatures that sometimes have to clean up the mess,” said Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole.

Democrats said they have saved in the budget for an uncertain future.

All lawmakers agreed that the cost of living was issue number one, while Republicans said upcoming state tax breaks should not be sacrificed.

“We as a legislature need to take a critical look at our budgets, and our government spending before asking people to give up more of their hard-earned paychecks. We made a promise and we should keep it,” said House Minority Leader Rep. Lauren Matsumoto.

Rep. Chris Todd, chair of the House Finance Committee, said any legislation that passes should not place “an additional burden on low- and middle-income families that can already not afford to pay more or are already struggling to make ends meet.”

Attorney general investigation welcomed

The attorney general announced Tuesday that she would investigate an allegation that an unnamed lawmaker in 2022 accepted $35,000 in a bag.

Leaders welcomed the investigation after being pressured to investigate themselves.

“We will definitely cooperate. I think this is a dark cloud over the legislature,” Nakamura said.

Keohokalole said the attorney general’s office has the proper resources for the investigation. “They have investigators. They have prosecutors in a special unit that’s tasked to do this type of work, but also, if there is a crime, she can actually file the indictment,” he said.

Awa pointed out it was unlikely the culprit was Republican, and pointed out he’d brought a polygraph machine on the desk next to him.

Lawmakers hope they can emerge from this wait-and-see position before the legislature ends in May.

Copyright 2026 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.