LONG BEACH — Finding points to fill the scoring void left by the injury to Gavin Sykes wasn’t a problem for the Long Beach State men’s basketball team on Saturday afternoon.

Getting crucial stops on the defensive end was the bigger issue.

LBSU rallied from a 15-point deficit with just over seven minutes remaining against visiting Hawaii to get within one with 54 seconds left in their Big West Conference matchup, but the hosts couldn’t get over the hump in an 89-82 loss at the Pyramid.

Dre Bullock, who scored a season-high 26 points for the Rainbow Warriors after a 1-for-10 shooting performance in an 87-76 overtime loss at UC Irvine on Thursday, which dropped them out of a tie for first in conference play, sank a step-back jumper from the baseline with 28 seconds left for a three-point lead.

LBSU called timeout and set up a play, but Petar Majstorovic’s pass from out of the post to Shaquil Bender above the 3-point line went out of bounds with 13.9 seconds left and Hawaii was able to seal the win at the free-throw line.

“We’ve got to get a shot on the rim at the end of that game,” LBSU coach Chris Acker said. “I’ll kick myself in the butt for just not putting us in a better situation for as hard as they battled to be in that game. Down three, we’ve got to get a shot on the rim.”

Hawaii (16-5 overall, 8-3 Big West) shot 58% from the floor and 8 for 14 from 3-point range.

Sykes had a boot on his right foot and missed his second straight game with an ankle injury. The freshman shooting guard leads LBSU in scoring (18.2 ppg) and is averaging 19.4 points per game in conference play, which ranks second in the Big West.

“Obviously we miss him, but the identity of this program has to be that we play hard, we fight, we compete,” Acker said. “Whatever five is on the floor, our expectations don’t change, so I hope in a little bit we get Gavin back and he gets healthy and he’s with us again, but again, I’m just really proud of this group and how they competed.”

Majstorovic and Bender each scored 22 points as the only players in double figures for LBSU (8-15, 4-7), which has lost four in a row.

Bender, a senior transfer from Manhattan, moved into the starting lineup in place of Sykes and made four 3-pointers in the first seven minutes to help Long Beach to an 18-11 lead.

Bender came in averaging 8.9 points and shooting just 29.9% from 3-point range, but the Philadelphia native was a combined 5 for 8 from behind the arc in his previous two home games and 4 for 7 on Saturday.

“Home games, I just love being in here,” Bender said. “When I came on and I hit my first one, and then everybody was cheering, it just felt good.”

LBSU’s lead grew to as many as nine points before Hawaii had a seven-point possession that began when Isaiah Kerr sank a 3-pointer at the same time Dallas Washington was shoving Isaac Johnson in the chest, resulting in a technical foul following a review.

Johnson made both free throws and Bullock scored on a drive on the ensuing possession to cut the lead to 22-20 with 9:42 left in the half. Neither team led by more than a possession until Hawaii scored the final eight points of the first half, culminating with Bullock grabbing a rebound and taking it end-to-end for a layup at the buzzer for a 36-31 lead.

The Warriors used another 10-0 burst to extend their lead to 48-35 with 15:11 left in the game. Isaac Finlinson came off the bench for Hawaii and made four 3-pointers in just under three minutes to keep Long Beach from making a push early in the second half.

“Finlinson made a couple huge 3s down the stretch of that game that opened the game up and got (the lead) to 10,” Acker said.

LBSU managed to cut the 15-point deficit to five and then took advantage of a flagrant foul on Hawaii during a missed 3-point attempt by Long Beach with 1:09 left.

Leopold Levillain made both free throws to cut the lead to 83-80. Majstorovic was then fouled on the ensuing possession and made both of his free throws to make it a one-point game, but that’s as close as it would get.

“We’ve got eight scholarship guys right now, and so our guys are battling, but our margin for error is so slim,” Acker said. “When you dig yourself a 10-point hole, and you’re constantly fighting to get back in the game the entire game, it’s really hard to do that.”

UP NEXT

Long Beach State plays at UC San Diego on Thursday at 7 p.m.

BIG WEST STANDINGS

Through Saturday, Jan. 31

Team – Overall, Big West

UC Irvine – 15-7, 8-2

UC Santa Barbara – 15-7, 8-3

Hawaii – 16-5, 8-3

UC Davis – 13-9, 6-5

Cal State Northridge – 13-10, 6-5

UC San Diego – 15-8, 5-6

Cal State Fullerton – 10-13, 5-6

Cal Poly (SLO) – 9-14, 5-6

Long Beach State – 8-15, 4-7

UC Riverside – 8-15, 3-8

Cal State Bakersfield – 8-15, 2-9