by HONOLULU – The University of Hawai’i men’s basketball team got off to a fast start and didn’t look back in a 71-51 trouncing of Eastern Washington on the second day of the OUTRIGGER Rainbow Classic Sunday at the SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff.
UH (2-0) led from wire-to-wire, building a double-digits just minutes into the game and maintaining it almost throughout. With the win the Rainbow Warriors put themselves in the tournament title game where they will meet Yale. The Bulldogs (3-0) also enjoyed a blowout win with a 80-51 rout of Mississippi Valley State earlier in the day to set up the title clash. The teams will square off on Monday at 7 p.m. with UH seeking its 16th-ever Rainbow Classic title
UH came out with energy on both ends of the court. Four Rainbow Warriors finished in double digits, led by Kamaka Hepa who fell one rebound short of a double-double. The senior finished with a game-high 17 points and tied his career-high with nine rebounds. Noel Coleman posted 15 points and four assists, while Bernardo da Silva shook off some early foul trouble to finish with 14 points, six rebounds and four assists. Samuta Avea chipped in 10 points and was active defensively with three blocks.
UH scored the first nine points of the game and build a double-digit lead less than five minutes into the game. The ‘Bows led by as many as 13 points midway through the half and withstood a 13-2 EWU to take back control of the game and lead 33-23 at the break. UH held the Eagles to just 32 percent shooting in the first half and forced 11 EWU turnovers.
The team got out of the gates right out of the locker room as back-to-back three-pointers by Avea forced EWU (0-3) to call a timeout just 45 seconds into the second half. UH shot 50 percent in the second half and continued to clamp down on the Eagles defensively. EWU finished just 2-of-11 on three-pointers. Meanwhile the ‘Bows out-scored EWU 20-5 off of turnovers with the Eagles committing 16 turnovers for the game and UH just commiting just eight.
