There isn’t a better way to say it, Kieran Elliott took a charge so square his right shoe fell off.
For Cal Poly Men’s Basketball, it was just one of many defensive plays that kept them in the first half against the University of Hawai’i.
The fast start was not enough as the Mustangs (7-12, 3-4 Big West) lost to the Rainbow Warriors (13-3, 5-1 Big West) 86-68 inside Mott Athletic Center on Thursday.
Cal Poly is not afraid to live and die by the three-pointer, and for parts of the first half it appeared they would quickly die by it against a Hawai’i team that sports one of the best defenses in the nation.
Guards Jake Davis and Hamad Mousa each hit a pair of triples in the first half, but as a whole the team was 7-22 from behind the arc and 14-36 overall from the field.
Despite the poor shooting half, a couple of timely defensive plays helped the Mustangs enter the second half down by just five.
They would have to play the second half without Davis who left the game late in the first half after taking an elbow to the nose that left him bloody and requiring stitches.
Cal Poly opened the second half slowly, making just one shot through the first five minutes as Hawai’i raced out to a 13-4 run to start the half.
Hawai’i guard Dre Bullock punctuated the run with a 360 degree dunk in transition to suck the life out of Mott Gym.
Moments would arise where Mott would come alive, namely Aaron Price Jr. throwing down dunks on the heads of unsuspecting Hawai’i defenders. Price had a loud six points on three rim rattling dunks.
It seemed that the Rainbow Warriors would answer the Mustangs with a big basket any time Cal Poly threatened to get back in the ball game.
“[Hawai’i] are a very veteran group so that certainly creates challenges. I didn’t think it was a physical thing tonight I just thought we were very emotionally immature,” Head Coach Mike DeGeorge said. “Guys aren’t doing their jobs, and they get out of whack with a call they don’t like … we’re just emotionally not the same team we are at practice.”
Ultimately Hawai’i stretched the lead out to over 20 points before the final horn sounded with the score 86-68.
Cal Poly finally died by the three, shooting just 1-10 from beyond the arc in the second half.
Mousa led the Mustangs with 17 points, with Jackson Mosely and Price Jr. providing a spark off the bench with a combined 14 points.
Cal Poly has a bye in Big West play on Saturday, their next matchup will be their Blue-Green rivalry game against UC Santa Barbara. The two will square off on Thursday, Jan 22. at the Thunderdome in Santa Barbara.