The University of Hawai’i basketball team could have used some of the Chinese lions that performed during pregame and halftime on Saturday night. The Rainbow Warriors had little energy and no good luck in a 75-54 loss to UC Santa Barbara.
An announced crowd of 6,060 at the Stan Sheriff Center watched the Warriors suffer their worst home defeat ever against a Big West Conference opponent. Hawai’I, which joined the Big West in the 2012-13 season, had not lost at home by more than 14 points to a Big West team prior to this loss.
The 21-point difference was also the largest margin of defeat for the Warriors this season, and dropped the Warriors to fourth place in the Big West.