In a tough but valuable final exam of this nonconference men’s basketball season, Hawai’i grinded out a 66-61 victory over visiting Texas-El Paso on Saturday night.
A supportive and appreciative crowd of 2,984 in BankOh Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center watched sneior forward Harry Rouhliadeff score a game-high 22 points and grab seven rebounds and Dre Bullock add 15 points and six boards as the Warriors won their sixth straight to improve to 10-2. Jamal West, Jr., scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds and Kaseem Watson added 12 points and five boards for the Miners, who fell to 3-6.
UH climbed out of a 24-10 hole late in the first half to close it to 26-25 at halftime, then overcame a 47-42 deficit late in the second half to finally take the lead at 50-49 on Aaron Hunkin-Claytor’s 3-pointer from the left corner with 5:56 remaining.
Gytis Nemeiksa later capped an 11-3 run with a slam dunk at the 1:24 mark to push the lead to 63-54, and from that point UTEP could not get closer than the final score.
“I’m incredibly proud of our team, especially in a game like that,” Warriors coach Eran Ganot said. “We had respect for their team, their program, their staff coming in, and this was a gritty, tough, physical game that we knew and expected, we’ve been in some of those. And it’s one of those games where we gotta hang in (there). I thought we started off great, and then we couldn’t finish around the rim, and we were hesitant around the rim, and couldn’t make some open shots which caused us to be a little hesitant …
“I was proud because when you miss that many shots — I think we were 3 for 20 at one point — the deficit could have been worse. But we were in the ballpark defensively, we fought on the glass, and took care of the ball. Defend, rebound, take care of the ball. And in the huddles, we had great conviction, great belief, like the best was yet to come. But we cannot be hesitant.”
With no Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic this season, UH will have an 18-day hiatus before resuming Big West Conference play at UC Riverside on New Year’s Day.