All I want for Christmas is …
Santa Claus is coming to town in just a few nights, but the Hawaii basketball team will be a little busy.
The Warriors will play three games in four nights in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic, starting with an 8 p.m. contest against Auburn on Thursday night at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Hawaii will also play on Friday night and on Sunday afternoon (Christmas Day).
In between preparing for this tournament, taking class finals, and other basketball games and practices, the Warriors have not had much time to think about Christmas. In lieu of a trip to see Santa at the mall, some of the Warriors expressed their Christmas wishes to WarriorInsider.com.
Not surprisingly, winning the Diamond Head Classic was at the top of the Christmas wish list for some of them.
Sophomore forward Davis Rozitis actually was on a Diamond Head Classic championship team in 2009, when he was a freshman at USC (Gib Arnold was an assistant for the Trojans that year as well). As Rozitis explained to his teammates: “I’ve been there, done that. But to do it again would be amazing … to lift that trophy above your head, it feels amazing.”
Hawaii vs. Auburn
Where: Stan Sheriff Center
When: Thursday, December 22, 8 p.m.
Tickets: $26 lower level, $18 upper level (tickets are good for both the 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. games of the tournament)
TV: Live on ESPNU (Oceanic channel 219 or 1219)
Radio: Live on ESPN 1420 AM
Earlier schedule: 9:30 a.m.—UTEP vs. Clemson; 11:30 a.m.—Kansas State vs. Southern Illinois; 6 p.m.—Long Beach State vs. Xavier
Note: Tickets for the day session games are $10 general admission
Results from Thursday’s day session games…
UTEP 61, Clemson 48: Michael Perez scored 25 points, including 16 in the decisive second half to lead the Miners past the Tigers. The score was tied at 24 at halftime, and Clemson actually took a 29-24 lead early in the second half. The Miners caught the Tigers, then broke it open with an 11-2 surge late in the second half.
Kansas State 83, Southern Illinois 58: This one was a blowout from the start. The Wildcats jumped to a 48-29 lead at halftime, then increased the lead to as many as 31 in the second half. Angel Rodriguez went 5 of 6 from 3-point range and led K-State with 17 points.