If ever winning a championship did not feel like such … that was the University of Hawai’i men’s basketball team’s experience Monday night, when the Warriors lost to Portland, 73-66, but won the 60th Annual Outrigger Rainbow Classic anyway due to tiebreaker rule.
A subdued crowd of 2,375 in BankOh Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center watched center James O’Donnell score 18 points with nine rebounds and two assists and Riley Parker add 14 points as the Pilots improved to 3-1. Tanner Cuff scored a game-high 22 points and grabbed eight boards and Zack Davidson added 18 points for UH, which fell to 3-1.
The Warriors won the tournament title anyway, due to a tiebreaker rule awarding the championship to the team that allowed the least amount of points in the three games. Hawai’i allowed 179 total points, compared to 211 for Portland.
More details to come.