Cal Poly Men’s Basketball is still looking for its first conference win since Dec. 2022 after dropping their Saturday night matchup against Hawai’i, 68-55, inside Stan Sheriff Arena.
The Mustangs (6-10, 0-4 Big West) scored a season-low in points but also allowed a season-low to Division-I opponents against the Rainbow Warriors (9-5, 1-2 Big West).
The Mustangs shot just 33% from the field and below 25% from three, their lowest percentages of the season.
Cal Poly started sluggishly, scoring seven points in the game’s first ten minutes.
It was part of yet another slow first half for the Mustangs, shooting 8-for-32 from the field and a frigid 3-for-15 from behind the arc.
Cal Poly entered halftime having scored 22 points.
Defensively, the Mustangs held Hawai’i to just 27 points, their least given up in a half this season.
Cal Poly has entered halftime ahead in just five of its 16 games and has trailed at halftime in each of its last six games.
Some of those are one or two possession games at the half. Other games are similar to outings against Denver and CSUN, which they made competitive in the second half despite double-digit deficits.
After the halftime break, Hawaii went on a 15-2 run in the first five minutes, putting the game out of reach.
Cal Poly responded with an 8-0 run of their own but could not get it under double digits as the Rainbow Warriors cruised to victory.
Graduate guard Owen Koonce paced all Mustangs with 15 points, with no one else scoring double digits.
It won’t get any easier for the Mustangs as they try to snap their 42-game losing streak in conference play.
They face UC San Diego next on the road, a team riding an 11-game winning streak and a 13-2 record into the contest on Thursday, Jan. 9, at 7 p.m. at LionTree Arena.
