HILO, Hawai'i – Hawai'i Hilo Men's Basketball welcomed the Division-I Rainbow Warriors to town for a thrilling season-opening exhibition that went down to the final seconds Friday evening at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium.
UH Manoa's Tanner Christen managed to put through a short jumper through contact with four seconds remaining and later converted on the and-1 free throw to take a three-point lead. Coming out a timeout for the final play, the Vulcans heaved a half-court attempt but came up empty.
"In basketball, all you really want is a chance to win at the end. It's good for us to have a close game early in the season so we have something to build off of," fifth-year Hawai'i Hilo head coach Kaniela Aiona said. "We didn't make free throws — 54 percent from the line is not going to get it done."
The two teams battled throughout the entire 40 minutes of play, exchanging nine lead changes with nine tied scores. Hawai'i Hilo held the lead for a total of 14 minutes and 52 seconds, including through the opening 13 minutes of action.
UH Manoa dominated inside with a 44-28 points-in-the-paint advantage, but the Vulcans capitalized with a 20-7 edge in points off turnovers. The Rainbow Warriors committed 25 turnovers to just 11 from the home team.
Nadjrick Peat led with 12 points (5-8 FG) followed by 11 from Julian Roberts (4-5 FG) and 10 from Julio Montes II. Andre Norris, who led the NJCAA in steals during the 2022-23 season, was credited with eight steals.
"We had more questions than answers coming into this game, which was different from the last couple of years. This year is a new crew so it's good to see how they showed up when the lights were on in pressure situations. I'm pleased with the effort and the attitude tonight."
OTHER NOTES
- Vulcans Starters: Peat, Brody Davis, Jarin Edwards, Isaiah Hinds and Jake Kosakowski.
- Hawai'i Hilo Women's Basketball will take on the Rainbow Wahine Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. inside the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium. Tickets are available at HiloAthletics.com/WBBTIX. The two weekend exhibitions, in addition to keiki basketball clinics on Saturday, were all organized in collaboration with Kawazoe Sports and Entertainment. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Hilo Charities and Motiv8.
- The last time UH Manoa played on the Big Island was 2011 at Kealakehe High School in Kona. The Rainbow Warriors last played at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium in 2001 as part of the Big Island Invitational Tournament.
UP NEXT
Hawai'i Hilo will officially tip off its season next week as part of the CCA Canadian Tip-Off Classic at the Langley Events Centre in British Columbia, Canada with matchups against Simon Fraser (Nov. 1), Western Oregon (Nov. 2) and Saint Martin's (Nov. 3).
The Vulcans will then travel to Montana for an exhibition with Division-I Montana followed by the PacWest-GNAC Crossover with contests against Saint Martin's and Montana State Billings.
"We want this team to get tested early and that's what we're getting," Aiona said.
Next home game will be Friday, Nov. 22 against Northwest Indian College.
