PORTLAND, Ore. — In a spectacular display of NBA-type athleticism, No. 4 seed Arkansas soared past the No. 13-seeded University of Hawai’i men’s basketball team, 97-78, Thursday in an NCAA Tournament West Region first round game.
A highly entertained crowd of 12,104 in the Moda Center watched AP First Team All-America point guard Darius Acuff, Jr., score a game-high 24 points and dish seven assists and Meleek Thomas add 21 points and eight rebounds as the Razorbacks improved to 27-8 and advanced to Saturday’s second round game against No. 12 seed High Point, which upset No. 5 seed Wisconsin earlier on Thursday.
Dre Bullock scored a team-high 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds, and Isaac “Big Fish” Johnson added 15 points and five boards for the Warriors, who ended their Big West Conference championship season at 24-9.
Arkansas needed less than seven minutes after tipoff to show why it is the Southeast Conference champ and ranked No. 14 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll. The Razorbacks appeared one step quicker and jumped at least six inches higher than the Warriors, who were left to watch Arkansas soar to a commanding 20-4 lead by scoring on a stunning assortment of high-flying alley-oop slam dunks, 3-point shots and dazzling but graceful straight-line drives and finishes at the rim.
Defensively, the Razorbacks blocked shots, altered shots, made steals, intercepted passes and forced the pace as UH rimmed out shot after shot from close and afar.
“They’re great athletes, that’s what we expected while we were here, we watched film on them,” Johnson said. “But we know at the end of the day, two points is two points. So it wasn’t necessarily a shock factor from the level that they were at. It’s just that we didn’t execute to the point that we should have, allowing them to get easy buckets like that. And so not that we were taken aback or shy from what was happening, it was just basketball.”
Bullock said knowing how athletic Arkansas would be, UH should have made a quicker adjustment.
“We weren’t surprised, coaches did a good job prepping us for scout, we saw their film, they can really fly and get out there, they’re fast, credit to them, they’re talented,” Bullock said. “But we just gotta do a better job preparing those first five or six minutes. We just started out on a bad note, just gotta learn and grow from it. Credit to them.”
After the Razorbacks quickly raced out to leads of 11-0, 15-2 and 20-4, the Warriors finally got untracked when Isaiah Kerr converted a three-point play off a driving layup to ignite a 12-6 run capped by Bullock’s fast-break dunk which cut it to 26-16 with 9:46 remaining in the first half.
Arkansas quickly answered with a basket and two free throws to push the lead to 30-16, but Bullock scored on a putback to start Hawai’i on an 11-6 surge and closed it to 36-27 on Isaac Finlinson’s 3-pointer from the left corner with 6:27 still to go in the first half.
Hawai’i hung around, and it was 46-36 after Hunter Erickson’s 3-pointer with 2:42 left, but Malique Ewin responded with an alley-oop slam dunk to spark an 8-0 run culminating in another spectacular alley-oop slam by Billy Richmond III to give the Razorbacks a commanding 54-36 lead at halftime.
A 3-point banker made by Erickson at the horn would have cut it to 54-39, but the basket was waved off after a TV replay review showed the ball still touching Erickson’s hand as the clock showed 0:00.
Warriors coach Eran Ganot said the big first-half deficit was a result of Arkansas’ excellence combined with missed opportunities by UH.
“I do want to give credit to Arkansas, Coach (John) Calipari and their staff, their kids, they played really well, obviously,” Ganot said. “Not a great start for us, we weren’t really there consistently defensively, we missed some open shots, but they (the Razorbacks) had a lot to do with that. I want to give credit to that great team, I wish them well moving forward. There’s a reason they won the SEC, they’re playing really hot.”
The Warriors opened the second half with an 11-4 run and closed it to 58-47 on Bullock’s fast-break dunk with 17:15 remaining, but Arkansas again answered with six straight points to push the lead to 64-47 just 90 seconds later.
Calipari said he was pleased with how the Razorbacks responded to every Hawai’i run, and killed those mini rallies before they closed the deficit to single digits.
“The start of the game, we talked about it, we’ve been talking about it for the past month — the first five minutes,” Calipari said. “Now, the first five minutes could be 15-15, but you were ready to play, and the other team played well, too. Today they (the Warriors) missed some shots, and then they started making shots. You gotta give them credit, they did not quit. Hawai’i just kept playing, and all of a sudden I’m looking up, it’s 15 (point lead), and then we make a play or two.”
And so it went. UH closed it to 86-71 on Bullock’s floater with 3:39 left, but Thomas answered with a 3-pointer to ignite a 7-0 run and Richmond’s soaring dunk to make it 93-71 with 2:26 on the clock, effectively slamming the door shut on any hope of a Warriors comeback.
In the end, Ganot said despite the sound defeat, the team and Hawai’i in general can walk away with pride and dignity after returning to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 10 years.
“No. 1, I’m just beaming with pride for everything Hawai’i,” Ganot said. “These student-athletes in the locker room are hurting, but both can be true — you can hurt, but also be very proud of what they’ve done in all facets: on the floor, in the classroom, in the community, inspirational to the state, our university, our athletic department, our boosters, our recruits, our administration … I mean, they’ve checked every box.
“There’s a finality to this, it’s what we all sign up for, it’s what we live for. Perspective is everything. The ups, enjoy for a second, (then) get back to work. The downs, let it hurt for a second, get back to work, keep moving forward. It’s OK to be human. I like our guys’ personalities. So I’m very thankful to them for what they’ve done for all of us, and the legacy (they) left behind, that gives us a bright future.”
Ganot also took a moment to thank the UH fans, hundreds of whom crossed the ocean to cheer on the Warriors at the Moda Center, as well as the ones showing support from afar.
“The last thing I’ll say is I’m just very thankful to our fans who didn’t travel, and the ones who did travel,” Ganot said. “It’s an honor to go through this battle with this group, who represented our state, our university, our athletic department, basketball, the NCAA, the incredible Big West Conference … and there are better days ahead.”