HILO — Even a steady all-day rain, slippery floor and tougher-than-expected exhibition victory over an NCAA Division II opponent could not put a damper on the University of Hawai’i men’s basketball team’s trip to the Big Island last weekend.
The Warriors squeaked past UH Hilo, 64-61, on Friday night at Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium as Tanner Christensen’s three-point play with 4.6 seconds remaining provided the difference. Then on Saturday, the team co-hosted a free “Keiki Clinic” at the Civic before the 55-minute flight back to Honolulu.
“The game was a really good experience for us, good reps,” Hawai’i coach Eran Ganot said. “We got to travel together, do a game day routine together, educate the guys about another island and give back to the community.”
Despite a stubborn late afternoon “heavy drizzle,” a decent crowd of about 800 red-clad Vulcans fans showed up to the Civic and provided loud support especially late in the game as UH Hilo led, 61-59, after two free throws by Julio Montes II with 1:52 left.
“It was a great night, no matter what happened, it was going to be a win,” Vulcans coach Kaniela Aiona said. “Every basket that was made, somebody in this building was going to be happy. Even me, I root for Manoa against everybody they play except for us. So it’s great for them to come over here and spread the aloha. We want to grow the game of basketball, and this is a part of that.
“(Friday’s) game was great, I’m glad it was a good game for everybody to watch, it was entertaining. Most importantly, there were a lot of kids here who got to see two teams play really hard.”
Sophomore guard Tom Beattie sank two free throws to tie the game at 61-61 with 46.6 seconds remaining.
“This crowd was great, I was shooting those free throws, and it was so loud I couldn’t hear anything,” said Beattie, who finished with 12 points, six assists, two rebounds and two steals in his debut as starting point guard.
UH Hilo missed on a driving layup on its ensuing possession, and the Warriors rebounded with about 28 ticks left. Beattie then eventually drove down the ride side of the lane, jump stopped, and then dumped the ball to Christensen, who laid it in and converted the and-1.
“Tom is a great facilitator,” said Christensen, a grad transfer from Utah Tech who finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds and two assists. “We have other great guards, too, so that makes it easier for us bigs to get open layups.”
After a timeout, the Vulcans inbounded the ball but Hawai’i forward Harry Rouhliadeff was quickly on the receiver, who had to dribble around him before launching an off-balanced Hail Mary that badly missed.
“We had our chances, but couldn’t capitalize,” said Aiona, noting his team went 12 for 22 from the free throw line. “It was a good game, competitive game, and that’s all we could have asked for. It would have been great to get the win, but for what this game was supposed to be (an exhibition) … I thought we accomplished what we wanted. We really needed to see our guys against somebody else.”
Ganot said Hilo also gave the Warriors the tough competition they needed.
“They set the tone and let’s give (the Vulcans) credit, they’re a really good team, well-coached,” Ganot said. “They took it to us — we were on our heels, not them. And I think they sensed it. Our first catch, our first rebound against the soft press, they smelled blood … and they built momentum off seeing that.
“The two best things we did was finish the half well, and finish the game well. But the rest of the game was theirs. I think we’d be remiss if we didn’t acknowledge that.”