IRVINE — If there was any question whether the UC Irvine men’s basketball team has turned its season around, the Anteaters answered it Saturday afternoon.

UCI won its seventh consecutive game with a 77-52 thrashing of Hawaii at the Bren Events Center, making up for a one-sided loss against the Rainbow Warriors in a Big West Conference game last month.

Collin Welp had 18 points and 13 rebounds, and Dawson Baker scored 12 points for the Anteaters (13-7 overall, 7-3 Big West), who received notable contributions throughout their starting lineup and from several bench players.

Hawaii (13-9, 7-4) had defeated UCI, 72-56, on Jan. 13 in Honolulu, the start of a three-game losing streak for the Anteaters.

“We’re doing what we’re supposed to do, we’re getting better,” UCI coach Russell Turner said. “We didn’t want to lose three straight conference games to force us to get better, but that was our reality, and so I think we’ve made the appropriate response.”

UCI took a nine-point lead into the second half before Justin Hohn made jumpers on back-to-back possessions to put the Anteaters ahead 36-26 with 18:16 left. Hawaii never got back within single digits.

Welp’s three-point play with 10:59 left stretched the lead to 20 points, and the Anteaters pushed the margin to 30 on another jumper by Hohn with 6:29 left.

The Rainbow Warriors shot 32.7% from the field after shooting 42.6% in the win against UCI last month. Hawaii, which averages 37% from 3-point range, was just 3 for 20 from behind the arc.

“We played well offensively for the most part, but it was our defense that wore them down, discouraged them, and set the tone with energy and effort,” Turner said.

At one point during the second half, Turner and Hawaii coach Eran Ganot had an angry verbal exchange, and coaches and players had to be separated again during the postgame handshake.

“Part of the reason that we were at the emotional level that we were is because of that previous game (in Hawaii),” Turner said.

UCI received good production from its big men during the first half.

Austin Johnson, who leads the Big West in blocked shots, registered a block on Hawaii’s first offensive possession and he severely altered a shot on its second.

Emmanuel Tshimanga replaced Johnson and the 7-footer from Montreal quickly produced three offensive rebounds, the last leading to a jumper by JC Butler that gave UCI a 13-9 lead and ignited a 7-0 run.

Bent Leuchten also made key contributions in the first half for the Anteaters.

The 7-footer from Germany contributed six points off the bench in the opening half. He faked a 3-pointer and drove to the basket for a layup, giving Irvine a 30-23 lead with 37 seconds left.

DJ Davis added two free throws with two seconds remaining for a 32-23 lead at the break.

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Noel Coleman, who came in averaging a team-leading 15.3 points for the Warriors, left with an apparent head injury with 5:51 left in the first half. He returned early in the second half but was held to four points.

“I thought our energy was great,” Turner said. “I thought the guys off our bench were also very physically into it. I thought we were emotionally on a different level than I’ve seen us in a lot of games this year, and it’s going to take that emotional level for us to win tournament-type games, which is what we have remaining.”