Although the faces across the opposite bench will be familiar and maybe even friendly, the Hawai’i men’s basketball team definitely will not be rolling out the red carpet for its guests from Long Beach State on Thursday night.
First and foremost the goal is to defeat The Beach in their Big West Conference showdown, which is set for 7 p.m. in SimpliFi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center. The game will be broadcast live on statewide TV by Spectrum Sports Channel 12, and aired via radio on ESPN Honolulu 1420AM.
The Warriors enter the game at 13-11 overall and 5-8 in league play, having dropped two straight road games and five of six overall. Long Beach State is 7-18, 3-10 after a heartbreaking 81-80 home loss to Cal State Northridge last Saturday.
UH is familiar with The Beach, and not just because head coach Chris Acker and assistant coach John Montgomery are former Warriors assistants. Long Beach State defeated Hawai’i, 76-68, at home in the Big West opener way back on Dec. 7.
“When you’re in the heat of battle, and the ball gets tipped, you’re not even thinking about (the relationships),” Warriors coach Eran Ganot said. “We appreciate all the things (Acker and Montgomery) have done for us, great coaches, great people, and we usually root hard for them. (But) in the game, you’re focused on the task at hand.”
UH forward Harry Rouhliadeff said that he can use the familiarity as motivation.
“I love Mont(gomery), he was one of my favorite coaches when he was here, and I still have a lot of love for him,” Rouhliadeff said. “And that sort of lights a fire in me with this game on Thursday, I’ve got a lot of determination to prove them wrong, since we went down at their place. It gives me a lot of motivation going into Thursday.”
Big West Conference Standings
UC Irvine 10-2
UC San Diego 10-2
UC Riverside 9-4
Cal State Northridge 9-4
UC Davis 8-5
UC Santa Barbara 8-5
HAWAI’I 5-8
Cal State Bakersfield 4-9
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo 3-9
Long Beach State 3-10
Cal State Fullerton 1-12