Isaac “Big Fish” Johnson scored 16 points and grabbed four rebounds and Harry Rouhliadeff added 14 points and eight boards off the bench Monday night to help Hawai’i hold off neighborhood rival Hawai’i Pacific, 88-76, in nonconference basketball action Monday night.
An entertained and appreciative crowd of 2,034 in BankOh Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center watched Gytis Nemeiksa make his third start of the season and add 12 points and eight rebounds as the Warriors improved to 5-2. Quinton McCullough scored 17 points and grabbed six rebounds and Quentin Meza added 16 points, five rebounds and five assists for the Sharks, who fell to 3-2.
HPU, which stunned the nation with a 79-78 victory at Boise State on Nov. 3, took a 42-41 lead two and a half minutes into the second half on Josh Niusulu’s 3-pointer. But Nemeiksa answered with a layup about 60 seconds later and UH never trailed again.
The Sharks closed it to 51-50 on Joshua West’s 3-pointer from the left corner seven minutes into the second half, but HPU head coach Jesse Nakanishi was whistled for a technical foul after the next possession, and Johnson converted the free throws to ignite a 13-0 run capped by Rouhliadeff’s free throw to make it 64-50 with 9:13 remaining.
The Sharks closed it to 82-74 on Meza’s layup with 1:33 remaining, but that was as close as they would get as Hunter Erickson and Yacine Toumi added four straight free throws to stretch it to 86-74 and effectively seal the victory.
More details to come.