Cal Poly Men’s Basketball traveled to Hawaii for a New Year’s Eve contest with the Rainbow Warriors, where they fell 57-48 inside SimpliFi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center.
The Mustangs (7-7, 1-1 Big West) were ice cold the first 10 minutes of the game, which allowed the Rainbow Warriors (11-3, 2-0 Big West) to take an insurmountable lead that started from the tip-off.
In fact, Hawaii went on a dominating 16-0 run to open up the game.
Graduate point guard Nick Fleming got the first points for the Mustangs after nearly 10 minutes of play with a jumper in the paint.
Cal Poly then began to cut into the lead on the back of senior guard Trevon Taylor and company, going on an 8-3 run in the final 4:30 to end the half down just 27-20.
However, Hawaii came out of halftime and answered by extending the lead with a 10-5 run.
A Taylor layup, a big rebound by senior center Alimamy Koroma and a layup by junior Kobe Sanders then cut the lead to four with 2:14 left. Despite this, the Rainbow Warriors ended the game with five successful free throws, leaving Cal Poly with a 57-48 loss on the holiday.
Taylor and Koroma had 10 points apiece, while Koroma added six boards.
Neither team found success from beyond the arc, making just one three-pointer each. Where the Mustangs struggled was sharing the ball, as they managed just three assists as a team.
Cal Poly will take the court again on Thursday, Jan. 5 at 7 p.m. against the CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners at the Icardo Center.