After playing host to North Carolina — a school located some 4,759 miles away — last Friday, the University of Hawai’i men’s basketball team will do the same to another college whose home gym is located just a stone’s throw from UH’s upper campus.
Hawai’i Pacific, whose “Shark Tank” gym is located in Manoa just past the end of East-West Road, will visit the Warriors at 7 p.m. Tuesday in SimpliFi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center.
The game will be shown on live statewide TV via Spectrum Sports Channel 12, and broadcast via radio on ESPN Honolulu AM1420.
UH is 4-1 coming off an admirable 87-69 home defeat to the No. 10-ranked Tar Heels, a game in which the Warriors trailed by three points (35-32) with just over a minute tom go in the first half. HPU has lost three straight after starting the season 2-0. The Sharks are coming off an 85-83 loss at Chico State on Nov. 18.
But after close exhibition losses to UH-Hilo (64-61) and Chaminade (85-81), Hawai’i is taking nothing for granted.
“I have a lot of respect for the programs here in the islands,” Warriors coach Eran Ganot said. “You saw that in the first two (exhibition) games we played. We were fortunate, and that was a credit to them, they’re really good. We have a lot of respect for Hawai’i Pacific and their staff and their talent.”
Guard Sherman Brashear, a 6-foot-5 senior, led the Sharks against Chico State with 23 points and eight rebounds. Forward Charlie Weber, a 6-foot-9 graduate senior, added 20 points and junior guard Jishua West (6-3) contributed 14 points and six boards. Sophomore guard Avi Halpert (6-foot) added eight assists.
“They’ve added guys who needed to be impactful, and they have,” Ganot said. “And they have size they can go to, they’re big inside. They’re shooting it really well, and they have a guard who can really pass. Also you can give them credit for not being one-dimensional, they play inside-out and they can shoot the ball, which always commands your respect.”
UH garnered a lot of respect after its performance against North Carolina, but senior guard Ryan Rapp said the Warriors’ strong showing against a ranked opponent does not mean they can take NCAA Division II member HPU lightly.
“It’s an honor that we got to play against a ranked team like that, but we gotta treat every team the same way, have the same motivation for each game,” said Rapp, a team co-captain. “I think for us, the message is we always gotta be that desperate team, we always gotta be that team coming out with the hunger to win.
“And we haven’t done well in the two exhibition games against the two DII schools in Hilo and Chaminade. So I think it’s a good game for us to turn it around and try to get the win going well.”