Warrior Insider

The Hawai’i basketball team has been looking forward to Saturday’s game against Cal Poly for a while now. It being Senior Night is only part of the reason.

The Warriors will host the Mustangs in a crucial Big West Conference game on Saturday night at the Stan Sheriff Center. It will be the final regular-season home game, and fans are being encouraged to wear white shirts for a “White-Out” to honor seniors Hauns Brereton, Jace Tavita and Vander Joaquim.

Hawai’i is 17-11 overall and in third place in the Big West at 10-6. Cal Poly is 14-12 overall and tied for fourth in the conference at 9-6.

Back on January 24, the Mustangs defeated the Warriors, 88-59, at San Luis Obispo, Calif. It was the Warriors’ worst loss of this season, and they have been aiming at payback ever since.

“Personally, there’s no other team I’d rather play on Senior Night because of what happened over there,” Tavita said. “We’re going to be ready. We’re definitely going to be ready.”

In the aftermath of that loss at Cal Poly, Hawai’i head coach Gib Arnold had a private meeting with the three seniors, and asked them to take more of a leadership role. The Warriors have won seven of nine games since that meeting, and Brereton, Tavita and Joaquim have, indeed, been the leaders of the late-season surge.

“It’s going to be special, but it’s going to be a battle,” Joaquim said of the Senior Night clash with the Mustangs.

Cal Poly is also on a roll, having won five of its last six games, including an 81-61 road romp at Cal State Northridge on Saturday. The Mustangs shot an astounding 80 percent (12 for 15) from 3-point range in the win, with Dylan Royer connecting on 7 of 8.

Cal Poly’s top player is Chris Eversley, a 6-foot-7 junior forward who is averaging 15.8 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.

“He scores a variety of ways – he’s a good enough 3-point shooter where you have to guard him,” Hawai’i associate coach Benjy Taylor said. “He’s strong, he can post up, he can drive you, gets tip-ins, scores in transition. He’s a good player.”

Royer, a 6-1 senior, is averaging 10.4 points per game and ranks among the Big West leaders for 3-pointers made (71) and 3-point percentage (.418).

The Warriors are especially concerned about rebounding. Hawai’i is ranked first in the Big West in rebounding margin at an average of plus-six per game, but had its worst rebounding game of the season at Cal Poly. The Mustangs out-rebounded the Warriors, 39-21, in the first meeting.

“We just didn’t keep them off the glass,” Taylor said.

Joaquim had one of the worst games of his career in the loss at Cal Poly, as he finished with two points and one rebound in just 12 minutes.

“Everybody has to come to play,” Taylor said. “They were physical against us and we just didn’t play well.”

Joaquim is averaging 14.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per game, and leads the team with 10 double-doubles.

Junior forward Christian Standhardinger continues to lead the Warriors in both scoring (15.9) and rebounding (8.1). Freshman forward Isaac Fotu is contributing 9.8 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.

Brereton is averaging 9.4 points per game, including 14.7 per game over the last seven games. Tavita is coming off a career-high 17 points in a 70-66 home win over UC Santa Barbara, and he leads the Big West in assists with 5.6 per game.

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Saturday’s game is part of a doubleheader with the UH women’s basketball team. The Rainbow Wahine will host Cal State Northridge at 5 p.m.

The men’s game will start at approximately 7:30 p.m., or 30 minutes after the conclusion of the women’s game. Fans who have tickets for the men’s game will be allowed to enter early to watch the women’s game.

GAME INFORMATION: Hawai’i (17-11, 10-6 Big West) vs. Cal Poly (14-12, 9-6 Big West)
When: Saturday, March 2, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Stan Sheriff Center (10,300) – Honolulu, HI
Television: Live statewide on OCSports – Channels 16 (SD) and 1016 (HD).
Streaming Video: Live video streaming is available on ocsports.tv.
Radio: ESPN 1420 AM will carry the game live. Neighbor islands can listen live on KNUI on Maui, KHLO in Hilo, KKON in Kona, and KTOH on Kaua’i.
Audio Webcast: Live audio streaming on espn1420am.com
Live Stats: Live in-game stats are available at HawaiiAthletics.com
Ticket Information: $26 (lower); $18 (upper-adult); $16 (upper-sr. citizen); $5 (upper-youth, ages 4-HS); UH Manoa students free with validated ID. Parking $6. Fans with a men’s ticket will be admitted free to the preceding women’s basketball game. Special upper level ticket rates will be also be available on game day from two hours prior to the start of the women’s basketball game until halftime of the women’s game.
Promotions: Saturday will be a White Out with all fans encouraged to wear white for the doubleheader. The first 300 students who arrive at the women’s game will receive a white shirt. Oceanic Time Warner Cable is the sponsor of the contest and will award $300 in gas cards at halftime. The University of Hawaii Federal Credit Union will distribute 3,000 team photos on “Senior Night.”