Hawai’i hung tough against visiting No. 10-ranked North Carolina on national TV Friday night before falling, 87-69, on a big-time men’s college basketball stage.
A near-capacity “White-Out” crowd of 8,648 in SimpliFi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center watched the Warriors stay close with the Tar Heels for the first half before Carolina pulled away to improve to 3-1. Gytis Nemeiksa scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Akira Jacobs added 13 points and four boards — both off the bench — as the Warriors fell to 4-1.
Consensus All-American guard RJ Davis scored a game-high 18 points with four assists and fellow guard Elliot Cadeau added 17 points with four assists to lead the Tar Heels, whose only loss was a 92-89 defeat at No. 1 Kansas.
North Carolina led from wire to wire Friday night, but UH stayed within single digits throughout most of the first half and closed it to 35-32 after Ryan Rapp’s short jumper with 1:17 remaining. Ian Jackson hit a 3-pointer right before the half to help the Tar Heels take a 41-34 lead into the break.
North Carolina then opened the second half with an 11-2 run capped by Seth Trimble’s two free throws to extend the lead to 52-36 three minutes in, and the closest the Warriors could get after that was 68-56 after Nemeiksa’s free throw with 8:07 remaining.
For the game, Hawai’i out-rebounded North Carolina, 40-27. But the Tar Heels out-scored the Warriors, 44-26, in the paint and had 17 points off turnovers compared to five for UH.
UNC also won the speed battle, scoring 19 points off of fast breaks, compared to just one for the Warriors.
Hawai’i did outscore the Tar Heels off the bench, 41-29, but North Carolina shot 51.9 percent 28 of 54) from the field, compared to 38.6 percent for the Warriors.
The Tar Heels also committed only five turnovers, versus 13 for UH.
The Warriors’ next game is set for 7 p.m. Tuesday against visiting Hawai’i Pacific.