By Kennedy Choo

After dropping a game to the Cal Poly Mustangs two days prior, the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa men’s basketball team bounced back in a big way, outlasting the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos 78–75 in overtime on AC Carter Night. The win secured a three-way tie for first place in the Big West.

Nearly 8,000 fans packed the Stan Sheriff Center at Bank of Hawaiʻi Arena, creating a whiteout atmosphere to honor former Rainbow Warrior guard Anthony Carter. Carter’s No. 23 became just the second jersey retired in program history.

“This one, I’ll never forget,” head coach Eran Ganot said. “For all things considered, I’ll never forget that.”

Between the electric crowd, the jersey retirement, a two-game skid, and a national television audience, the stakes felt even higher. The added emotion fueled Hawaiʻi (19-7, 11-5 Big West Conference) down the stretch and into overtime.

“Shoutout to the energy in the crowd,” graduate guard Dre Bullock said. “We definitely needed the extra push.”

With 8:49 left in the second half, Bullock blew past his defender off an inbound play, attacking the baseline for an acrobatic layup through contact. The whistle blew as the ball dropped through: an and-one that ignited the arena.

Bullock was the engine all night, finishing with a game-high 21 points on 7-of-16 shooting to go along with seven rebounds and three steals in 37 minutes.

Junior guard Isaiah Kerr also delivered a career performance, scoring a season-high 17 points in 31 minutes off the bench, including nine in the second half. His timely shot-making gave Hawaiʻi a steady lift when it mattered most.

Kerr’s performance earned high praise from Ganot.

“I told Zay after the game, I have never seen a player play as hard as I saw him tonight,” Ganot said. “Zay was the igniter.”

“Seeing one go down helps a lot,” Kerr said of his second-half effort. “I’m always of the mindset that you gotta keep shooting, miss or make.”

The final minute of regulation was nothing short of chaos.

With 38 seconds left, Bullock went up for a layup but couldn’t finish at the rim. Senior forward and captain Harry Rouhliadeff was waiting underneath, tipping it in to tie the game at 66–66.

UC Santa Barbara (17-11, 10-7 BWC) junior guard Marvin McGhee IV answered with a tip-in on the other end. But as time expired, Rouhliadeff came through once again, tipping in a missed layup by Hunter Erickson to knot the score at 68–68 and send it to overtime.

“Shoutout Harry,” Bullock and Kerr said.

Kerr carried that momentum into overtime, attacking the rim for a clutch and-one driving layup with 1:59 remaining, giving the Rainbow Warriors a 75–74 lead.

Clutch free throws from Hunter Erickson and Isaac Johnson sealed the 78–75 victory, pushing Hawaiʻi into a three-way tie for first place in the Big West.

Up next, the ’Bows hit the road to face UC Davis at 4 p.m. Hawaiʻi time. Catch the game live on ESPN 92.7 FM / 1420 AM.

Photos: Garin Paguio