HONOLULU — A showdown between the top two teams in the Big West Conference lived up to the billing.
Hunter Erickson’s 15-foot fadeaway jumper at time expired propelled Hawaii to a 67-66 victory over UC Irvine on Saturday night at the Stan Sheriff Center, handing the Anteaters their first loss in conference play and snapping their five-game winning streak.
With the final seconds running down, Erickson elevated near the free-throw line and his shot fell through the net at the buzzer to ignite a wild on-court celebration.
Hunter Erickson at the BUZZER!!!!!!
Hawai'i wins an instant Classic, 67-66. pic.twitter.com/1SI0WQhyZc
— Rocco Miller (@RoccoMiller8) January 11, 2026
Erickson’s game-winner provided the last of 22 lead changes as the Rainbow Warriors improved to 12-3 overall and 4-1 in Big West play while UCI dropped to 12-6 and 5-1.
UCI’s Derin Saran scored the last of his game-high 22 points when he battled for a layup with 12 seconds left to give the Anteaters the lead, using nifty footwork to get himself an up-and-under shot in heavy traffic.
Derin Saran puts the Anteaters in front! Hawai'i ball with a chance to win now. Incredible drama. pic.twitter.com/9vxf32JLsu
— Rocco Miller (@RoccoMiller8) January 11, 2026
Hawaii then worked the ball across the midcourt line and called its final timeout. On the final possession, Erickson drove to the middle of the lane and drained his jumper to snap UCI’s four-game winning streak in the head-to-head series.
“That was a heck of a college basketball game. It was frustrating coming out on the losing end of it,” UCI coach Russell Turner said. “We knew it would be a challenge to come in here and win. I thought we met the challenge for the most part. In a one-point game there are so many plays you can look back on and wish we made. I hope this will make us more determined to continue to get better.”
Saran shot 10 for 21 from the floor to go with three rebounds, two assists and a steal. Kyle Evans added 13 points, a game-high eight rebounds and four blocked shots. Jovan Jester Jr. had nine points, five rebounds and a block, while Elijah Chol had five points, eight rebounds and four blocks, but reigning Big West Player of the Week Jurian Dixon was held to six points (all in the second half). He added three steals, two rebounds and two assists.
Erickson finished with seven points, five rebounds and four assists and had three of Hawaii’s 11 blocked shots.
Isaac Johnson scored a team-high 15 points while dealing with foul trouble for much of the night. Harry Rouhliadeff finished with 14 points, and Aaron Hunkin-Claytor added 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting from the field to go with six assists.
The teams came into the game ranked among the top statistical defenses nationally and they backed that up from the outset. The teams combined for 12 blocked shots in the first half, when neither team shot better than 35%.
Johnson, Hawaii’s leading scorer and rebounder, exited the game with foul trouble less than two minutes into the game, but the Warriors built an early 17-9 lead. UCI responded, going on a 9-0 run to grab an 18-17 lead as Hawaii missed 11 straight shots. Hawaii answered right back, scoring seven unanswered points, including a pair of 3-pointers by Erickson and Rouhliadeff.
UCI held Hawaii’s top scorers – Johnson and Dre Bullock – scoreless in the first half, but the Warriors held a 29-27 lead at the break.
The teams traded blows throughout the second half with neither leading by more than four points. Dixon got on the floor to recover a loose ball, finding Saran for a floater to give UCI a 59-58 lead with less than five minutes to play. Hawaii took a brief lead on a 3-pointer, but an Evans layup tied the score at 61 and a pair of Saran free throws gave UCI a 63-61 lead with 1:59 left.
There were 11 ties in the final 20 minutes, the last coming when Johnson made two free throws with 1:48 left. Johnson then gave Hawaii the lead with a basket in the paint at the 1:11 mark, but UCI answered again with a Dixon free throw with 56 seconds left and an Evans steal with 28 seconds left to set up Saran’s go-ahead basket.
The Anteaters shot 38.8% from the floor (26 for 67) and made a season-low two 3-pointers. Hawaii shot 40.6% (26 for 64) overall but 51.7% (15 for 29) in the second half.
UCI had a 44-36 rebounding advantage with 18 offensive boards but had just six assists to 15 turnovers, which Hawaii turned into 21 points.
UP NEXT
UCI is off Thursday before playing at UC Davis on Saturday at 2 p.m.
