Nebraska’s overall team size and athleticism proved too much for Hawai’i to overcome Monday night as the Cornhuskers pulled away from the Warriors, 69-55, in Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic semifinal action monday.
A pau hana crowd of 2,700 in SimpliFi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center watched Nebraska guard Brice Williams pour in 32 points and forward Juwan Gary add 21 points and four rebounds as the Cornhuskers improved to 9-2 and advanced to Wednesday’s championship game against Oregon State.
Marcus Greene led Hawai’i (7-4) with 11 points and Kody Williams added 10 points for the Warriors, who will play Oakland for third place at 1:30 p.m. on Christmas Day.
Things looked good early for UH against Nebraska, as the Warriors led 22-14 after Akira Jacobs’ driving fast break layup with 8:40 remaining in the first half. But Braxton Meah’s putback about 90 seconds later ignited a stunning 15-0 run capped by Williams’ 3-pointer from beyond the top of the key with 1:08 left.
Harry Rouhliadeff’s layup finally ended the seven-minute scoring drought with 38 seconds on the clock, and Greene swished a fadeway 28-footer at the horn to close it to 29-27.
Hawai’i briefly took the lead back at 31-29 after Williams’ steal and layup 30 seconds into the second half, but the Cornhuskers answered with a 9-2 run to lead, 38-33, on a Williams layup with 17:18 remaining in the game.
Later, after the Warriors closed it to 42-39 on Rouhliadeff’s putback tip with 12:32 left, Nebraska responded with a 12-4 surge capped by Williams’ layup to extend the lead to 54-43 with7:51 on the clock. UH later closed it to 56-50 on a 3-pointer by Jacobs at the 6:20 mark, but the Cornhuskers then went on an 11-3 run to lead 67-53 with just under a minute left — sealing the victory.
“Tough loss, disappointing,” Warriors coach Eran Ganot said. “Give them (Nebraska) credit, the physicality was in their favor, whether it was on the glass or attacking the rim. We had our chances — we got off to a good start, but it was kind of a tale of two games from the previous game (against Charlotte on Sunday). Share the ball really well (Sunday), and then not share the ball. It was a little more iso(lation) today.
“They (the Cornhuskers) do that to teams … but we can be better.”
Hawai’i shot only 42.6 percent (20 of 47) percent from the field, including just 25 percent (5 of 25) from the field. The Warriors also made only 10 of 15 free throws (66.6 percent).
But beyond the stats, UH co-captain Ryan Rapp said the team lost the aggressiveness that helped it take that early 22-14 lead. Not just on offense, but also on defense in allowing Williams and Gary combine for 53 points.
“It’s tough to win when you let those guys go off like that,” said Rapp, who contributed nine points, four rebounds and three steals. “We were right there, with six minutes left it was a six-point game, but just gotta somehow come together as a group and be able to limit their runs and not be as comfortable.”