Dre Bullock scored a game-high 23 points and grabbed five rebounds and Isaac Johnson added 14 points with 11 boards Saturday night to help Hawai’i hold off Utah Tech, 68-62, and win its second straight Outrigger Rainbow Classic championship.
An announced crowd of 5,211 (tickets issued) watched Gytis Nemeiksa contribute 12 points and seven rebounds as the Warriors improved to 4-1. Ethan Potter led the Trailblazers (3-4) with 15 points and five rebounds and Noah Bolanga added 12 points and four boards.
UH led, 30-21, at halftime before Utah Tech closed it to 57-56 after Chance Trujillo drained a transition 3-pointer with 3:08 remaining. But Nemeiksa answered with a layup 24 seconds later and Bullock made a free throw with 2:12 left to stretch the lead to 62-56, and it was a two-possession game the rest of the way.
“I’m really proud of the fact that they’ve stuck together with added adversity, even in the tournament (with) three games in four days,” Warriors coach Eran Ganot said. “For the guys to stick together and find a way, it’s a step in the right direction. You gotta enjoy it, like we always say, you can’t be any good if you’re not happy. You gotta balance the joy of the journey with the competitiveness, and keep working at it. If it’s out of balance, you’re not going to have much success.
“It’s early, we have a long way to go. But I’m pleased with the guys sticking together.”
Johnson, a graduate transfer center, was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player after averaging 16 points and nine rebounds in the three games.
But Johnson said the championship was a team effort.
“(With) some people having injuries, some people having foul trouble … just seeing what we could do to push through those kind of setbacks, to set ourselves up for success,” Johnson said. “Something that Coach Ganot tells us is that it’s never on one guy, it’s on everybody to do just a little bit more, and I thought each person on the team did that, just a little bit more in their position, in their role. And three wins — four wins in one week — can’t be mad about that.”
Senior forward Harry Rouhliadeff scored a career-high 22 points in the Classic opener against Mississippi Valley State, but left about midway through the next game versus Manhattan after an apparent head injury. He sat out the Saturday victory over Utah Tech.
In the meantime, senior forward Gytis Nemeiksa contributed seven points and five rebounds against Manhattan and 12 points and seven boards against Utah Tech.
“I just feel like we’re really strong as a team, and we trust each other,” Nemeiksa said. “And that really helps.”
Bullock, a grad transfer guard from South Dakota, also was named to the All-Tournament Team.
Rainbow Classic All-Tournament Team
Dre Bullock, Hawai’i
Daniel Mayfield, Mississippi Valley State
Ethan Potter, Utah Tech
Fraser Roxburgh, Manhattan
Chance Trujillo, Utah Tech
Most Outstanding Player: Isaac Johnson, Hawai’i