Sunday will not be a day of rest for the University of Hawai’i men’s basketball in the month of December.
The Warriors (5-1) have a game on each of the first four Sundays this month, including today’s 5 p.m. meeting with Central Arkansas in SimpliFi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center. Fans can watch live on Spectrum Sports Channel 12, or listen via radio on ESPN Honolulu 1420AM.
For those attending in person, it will be “Military Appreciation Day,” with all military personnel eligible for a 50 percent discount at the UH ticket window, or online at etickethawaii.com
It is also “Keiki Day,” with all youths high school age or younger gaining free admission.
Fans will see a UH team (5-1) that is coming off its first loss of the season, 79-66, to Utah in Salt Lake City last Thursday. They will also see a Central Arkansas team that is 1-8 and has dropped its last seven games, including a 90-63 defeat at Loyola Marymount on Wednesday. That streak also includes a 75-71 loss at Vanderbilt, so the Bears have shown potential to be dangerous.
Even against LMU, Central Arkansas trailed 36-31 at halftime.
Elias Cato, a 6-foot-9 junior guard, finished with a double-double (15 points, 10 rebounds) and 6-9 freshman Tucker Anderson had a team-high 17 points. Sophomore forward Glory Etim (6-9) also grabbed 10 boards.
The Warriors just faced one of the nation’s tallest teams in Utah, which featured two 7-footers in the starting lineup. That height caused problems, as the Utes outscored Hawai’i, 44-24, in the paint and shot 52.6 percent (30 of 57) from the field.
The Warriors, meanwhile, shot just 42.1 percent (24 of 57) on field goals and made just nine of 15 free throw attempts (60 percent).
One bright spot for UH was the play off the bench from senior guard Juan Munoz (12 points, three assists) and sophomore forward Harry Rouhliadeff (11 points, two assists), who each shot 5 of 8 from the floor and played 20 and 17 minutes, respectively.
Utah only had a two-point advantage in bench scoring, 31-29.