HENDERSON, Nev. —The disappointment from a Senior Night home loss to Long Beach State last Saturday has transformed into renewed hope and optimism for the University of Hawai’i men’s basketball team.
The No. 2 seed Warriors (22-8) are aiming to take advantage of their first-ever double-bye in the Credit Union 1 Big West Conference Championship tournament Friday night when they take on No. 3 seed Cal State Fullerton (18-15).
Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. Hawai’i time in the Lee Family Forum; the game will be broadcast live nationally on ESPN2 and carried on radio via ESPN Honolulu 1500AM.
UH is coming off a stunning 84-75 home loss last Saturday to Long Beach State (10-22), a team that finished ninth in the league standings and did not even qualify for the Big West Tournament. But after watching film and going through a productive practice Monday, the Warriors say they were able to put that game in the rearview mirror and move their focus to Friday.
“It was definitely not the outcome we wanted Saturday night, but we’re grateful to still be playing basketball,” said grad transfer guard Dre Bullock, who was named to the All-Big West Second Team on Tuesday. “We still put ourselves in a good position entering this week. We just learn from it, honestly, we watched a lot of film. We just learn from it and grow from it and … we got a big one coming this week.”
Warriors coach Eran Ganot said this team has shown it can be resilient.
“We had a day like we had all year — focused, determined,” Ganot said. “The reality is, we came off that tough loss but like anything else, we’ve bounced back from tough losses. But why, how? Because we own it, it was painful, certainly, and that’s what you sign up for. It’s about what do you use that pain towards? These guys came in and had a focused, determined practice.
“We have 10 healthy bodies, we’ve been operating that way for about seven weeks. It’s a balance of keeping them fresh, and obviously continue to get better.”
Hawai’i swept its two games against Cal State Fullerton in the regular season, but the first game was in early December, and in the second meeting, it took a 3-point shot at the buzzer to squeak past the Titans, 87-85.