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UC Irvine men lose to Hawaii in Big West final, denied another NCAA trip

March 15, 2026

UC Irvine’s Derin Saran looks to shoot as Hawaii’s Dre Bullock defends during the second half of the Big West Tournament championship game on Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Henderson, Nev. (Photo by Ian Maule/Getty Images)

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Hawaii made sure its final game as a member of the Big West Conference was a memorable one.

The second-seeded Rainbow Warriors won their first Big West Tournament title in 10 years with a 71-64 victory over top-seeded UC Irvine on Saturday night at Lee’s Family Forum in Henderson, Nev.

Hawaii will be leaving the Big West after 14 years to join the Mountain West Conference at the end of June.

The Rainbow Warriors beat the Anteaters in one area of their strengths, outrebounding them 43-39, including 17-13 on the offensive end.

The Anteaters missed nine straight shots before Kyle Evans converted a three-point play with 53 seconds left to cut Hawaii’s lead to 66-62.

Evans then scored inside to cut it to 66-64 with 38 seconds left, but 7-footer Isaac Johnson helped Hawaii break the press with a pass to Harry Rouhliadeff and he made a layup to put the Rainbow Warriors back ahead by four.

Derin Saran then missed a 3-point attempt and Bullock scored on a reverse dunk on the other end for a 70-64 lead with 17 seconds left and the celebration began soon afterward.

Jurian Dixon scored 11 of his in 17 points in the first half for UCI (23-11), the Big West regular-season champion. Evans had 13 points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots, Saran also scored 13 points, and Andre Henry finished with 12 points off the bench for the Anteaters, who fell to 2-5 in the tournament championship game in 16 seasons under Coach Russell Turner. UCI is 0-3 in the title game since its last win in 2019, falling in 2021, 2025 and this year (there was no tournament in 2020).

The Anteaters will likely get invited to another postseason tournament, but Evans, Henry and Akiva McBirney-Griffin likely had their last shot at playing in the NCAA Tournament.

“What makes sports and coaching special, when you build strong relationships with guys you care deeply about, all these guys in the program I care deeply about,” Turner said. “And the ones who’ve been here the longest, the special stories like Andre’s, Akiva’s and Kyle’s, they matter. They’re meaningful. They’re the things memories are made of and hopefully many in this community get to feel a part of that, because they are.”

Johnson scored 22 points, Rouhliadeff and Bullock had 15 points each and Isaiah Kerr scored 10 off the bench for the Hawaii (24-8).

Johnson has experience in big games, leading Utah State to a first-round win in the NCAA Tournament two years ago by scoring 19 points in an 88-72 victory over ninth-seeded TCU, giving the Aggies their first NCAA Tournament win in 23 years.

Both teams got off to slow starts offensively Saturday. The Anteaters were 2 for 14 from the floor at the midway point of the first half and the Warriors were 5 for 20.

Hawaii helped itself with six offensive rebounds through the first eight minutes before Rouhliadeff made a 3-pointer to give the Warriors their first lead at 11-8 with 12:06 left.

Hawaii continued to lead, going up by as many as eight points on back-to-back 3-pointers from Johnson from the same spot in front of the UCI bench, before Evans made two free throws with 2:22 left in the half to move the Anteaters back ahead 28-27.

Hawaii eventually took a 31-30 into the break after holding UCI to 30% shooting from the field and forcing nine turnovers.

Dixon made a 3-pointer on UCI’s first possession of the second half to move the Anteaters back ahead 33-31, and the teams traded leads until the score was tied one final time at 50-50.

Hawaii followed with a 7-0 run and maintained the lead the rest of the way.

UCI shot 36% from the field overall and turned it over 15 times while being outscored 34-24 in the paint.

The Warriors had lost in their three previous tournament matchups against UCI in 2013, 2015 and 2018.

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UC Irvine men lose to Hawaii in Big West final, denied another NCAA trip Orange County Register

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UC Irvine men lose to Hawaii in Big West final, denied another NCAA trip

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