Valdes, Hawaii cruise past CS-Fullerton in Big West tourney

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) Aaron Valdes had 18 points, six rebounds and five assists, and Mike Thomas scored 12 points with 12 rebounds to help top-seeded Hawaii beat No. 8 seed Cal State-Fullerton 75-44 Thursday in the first round of the Big West Conference tournament.

Roderick Bobbitt scored 14 points and Stefan Jankovic added 12 for Hawaii, which will play the lowest-remaining seed in a semifinal game Friday.

Fullerton (10-20) used a 13-4 that spanned halftime to take a 30-29 lead on a jumper by Tim Myles with 17:33 to play.

The Rainbow Warriors (25-5) scored 28 of the next 31 points, including 10 from Valdes, to open a 24-point lead with 10:06 left as the Titans went nearly eight minutes without a field goal.

Jamar Akoh scored 12 points and Myles added 10 points with 12 rebounds for Fullerton, which made six second-half field goals - its fewest in a half this season.