Gytis Nemeiksa tied a career-high with 24 points and Marcus Greene added 22 points Sunday night to help Hawai’i glide past Charlotte, 78-61, in the first round of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic.
An announced crowd of 5,048 (tickets issued) watched the Warriors lead from wire to wire and improve to 7-3 overall heading into Monday’s 5:30 p.m. semifinal against Nebraska. Jaeshon Thomas scored 16 points and Nik Graves added 13 points and six rebounds to lead the 49ers, who fell to 6-5.
The UH-Nebraska game will be televised nationally on ESPN2 and broadcast live statewide on radio via ESPN Honolulu 1420AM.
The Cornhuskers (8-2) advanced by routing Murray State, 66-49, after leading at halftime, 34-14.
Hawai’i led Charlotte, 44-31, at halftime of that game after shooting 64.3 percent (18 of 28) from the field, including 62.5 percent (5 of 8) from 3-point range. Greene had three of those early 3-pointers.
“We’ve been working to play inside-out, and move the ball, but move it with purpose,” Warriors coach Eran Ganot said in a postgame radio interview. “We wanted to get paint touches, and guys are starting to make better reads. There might be some experience on our team, but they haven’t played together (for long). They’re starting to get better because they’re starting to play together, and different guys are emerging at different times.”
The Warriors dominated the glass, out-rebounding the 49ers 47 to 31, including 27-10 on the defensive boards.
UH center Tanner Christensen scored only five points but grabbed a game-high eight rebounds, and Nemeiksa added seven boards. The Warriors outscored Charlotte in the paint, 40-28, and on second-chance points, 16-8.
Greene, Kody Williams and Ryan Rapp each finished with three assists.
For Nebraska, Connor Essegian led the scoring with 15 points off the bench and reserve Andrew Morgan came in and scored 12 points with 12 rebounds. Starting guard Rollie Worster added 11 points.
Like Hawai’i, the Cornhuskers dominated the boards with 40 rebounds, compared to Murray State’s 26, including a 34-19 advantage on the defensive glass.
Nebraska held Murray State to just 14.3 percent shooting (4 for 28) in the first half, and 30.9 percent (17 of 55) for the game.
Meanwhile, the Cornhuskers shot 49.1 percent (26 of 53) from the field, including 35.3 percent (6 of 17) from beyond the arc.
“I think Nebraska is playing at a Top 25 level,” Ganot said. “They’re very physical, well-coached, and they’re playing their best basketball.”