UPDATED: Warriors rally past Chaminade on Kaua’i
LIHUE, Kaua’i — The University of Hawai’i men’s basketball team gave Garden Island hoops fans an entertaining show and earned itself a hard-fought 94-84 victory over O’ahu neighbor Chaminade on Saturday night.
A tightly packed sellout crowd of 800 at Kaua’i High School Gym watched Christian Standhardinger score 31 points and grab eight rebounds, Isaac Fotu add 18 points and six boards and Keith Shamburger finish with 17 points and five assists as the Warriors improved to 7-2 and the Silverswords fell to 4-4.
“Great night,” UH coach Gib Arnold said. “I loved playing here, the crowd was great and I give the people of Kaua’i a lot of credit, we were treated like royalty and they made us feel really at home. We are the University of HAWAI’I, and we do represent the entire state, all of the islands. We had a really great time and it was fun for our guys and for the fans. And give Chaminade credit, it was another barnburner with them and they did a great job.”
The game was tied at halftime and Chaminade led, 50-47, after Kevin Hu’s three-point play two minutes into the second half, but Shamburger answered with a layup 15 seconds later and Garrett Nevels’ deep 3-pointer gave UH the lead for good at 57-54 with 15:53 remaining. The Warriors eventually stretched the lead to 80-69 on Fotu’s left-handed layup off a spin move with 6:02 left, and the Silverswords could not get closer than 84-78 with just under three minutes remaining.
Standhardinger converted a three-point play with 1:52 left to push the lead to 88-78, and Quincy Smith drained a jumper with a minute on the clock to keep the margin at 10 points, 90-80. Standhardinger scored 20 of his 31 points after halftime, and Fotu had 15 of his 18 points after the break as Chaminade felt the effects of foul trouble.
“We knew they would make a concerted effort to go inside in the second half,” Silverswords coach Eric Bouvaird said. “But this team (UH) is dangerous, because you can’t help too much inside when their guards are also draining 22-footers. That gives us a lot more area to cover.”
Nevels, a 6-2 junior guard, finished with 16 points, including 4-of-5 attempts from 3-point range.
“It did turn into a shooting contest,” Nevels said. “I’m glad we won it.”
Chaminade, playing without injured leading scorer Christophe Varidel and 6-7 starting forward Rhys Murphy, torched the nets in the first eight minutes and took leads of 9-2, 16-4 and then 25-10 after Lee Bailey’s 3-pointer with 12:14 remaining in the first half. Hawai’i’s full-court pressure then caused some disruption for the Silverswords and the Warriors chipped away, capping a 9-0 run with a crowd-pleasing alley-oop slam dunk by Smith off Shamburger’s lob to close it to 25-19 with 10:30 left.
“I didn’t like how we played in the first 10 minutes, I don’t think it was indicative of who we are,” Arnold said. “But give Chaminade a lot of credit, they came out and shot great, they were hot.”
Kiran Shastri’s 3-pointer extended the lead back to 30-19 a minute later, but Nevels’ 25-foot rainbow cut it to 32-26 with 6:18 remaining, and Shamburger later drained a 3-pointer to tie it at 34-34 two minutes later.
Neither team could take a lead of more than two points the rest of the half and they went into the locker rooms tied at 42-42.
“I didn’t want our guys to come out timid, I wanted them to be aggressive, and they didn’t back down,” Bouvaird said.
Chaminade was 6 of 16 (37.5 percent) from 3-point range in the first half, with Shastri leading the way at 4-for-6 for 14 points, while UH was 5 of 14 (35.7 percent). The Warriors also made 17 of 23 free throws (73.9 percent), compared to 10 of 13 (76.9 percent) for the Silverswords.
Chaminade was in deep foul trouble at halftime, with all five starters saddled with at least two fouls, including 6-7 forward Tyree Harrison and 6-7 guard Kuany Kuany with three each.
Arnold said that only made it more important to feed Standhardinger and Fotu in the post for the second half.
“That was our advantage,” Arnold said. “During our timeouts we said ‘Let’s not try to match them 3-to-3, that’s not who we are.’ We needed to go inside and get to the line.”
Standhardinger finished 7 of 9 (77.7 percent) from the field and 16 of 22 (72.9 percent) from the line, and the 31 points tied his career high. Fotu — still nursing a fractured right hand that was heavily wrapped — was 7-for-7 from the field and 4-of-6 from the line.
“Since our guards were so amazing in the first half, we went more outside with them and then in the second half they did a great job of getting me and Fotu the ball,” Standhardinger said. “That is why we are such a great team — we have so many weapons.”
Hawai’i’s next game is at 8 p.m. on Dec. 22 vs. Boise State in the first round of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic at the Stan Sheriff Center.
“I like how we are playing offensively, we got 94 points and I think we can get close to 90 every night,” Arnold said. “Defensively, we still have a lot of work to do … but it’s all coachable, there are no major gaps and nothing we can’t fix.”
CLICK HERE TO VIEW MORE PHOTOS FROM THE GAME
(Game photos courtesy Brandon Flores / www.brandonfloresphotography.com)
O.K., ….Prepping for FALL Term FINALS…
Hit It in Class
Then Decide & Demonstrate HOW HIGH ʻYou Can Take This Programʻ
Diamond Head Classic — Like Fall-Term Finals on National TV
Even the BW will base much of their Scout on these televised games
Put On The BIG Boy Pants
120 Minutes-Plus of Tenacious-D
Then Out-Rebound, Outscore ʻEm and WIN
And Establish For ALL to See,
Where This Program has Re-Elevated To
GO ʻBows!
agree…this team, is still impressing myself…they play Chaminade, who is a gritty team, well coached, and shot lights out, no fear of the Bows..Hawaii, hangs in there, though 15 down in first half…they come back, with great , or Better D and pound it inside to bigs, in second half…these guys, with great coaching now…just find a way to compete and now win, doesn’t matter whom the opponent.
Eagle, and other fans, I think this team will get better, they are smart young guys, hopefully finish fall semester as champions, and have a shot a getting some wins in DHC, and possible championship!
Go Bows!
😀
It looked like a great atmosphere last night. It should help us in the Big West, where the gyms aren’t always much bigger. Rivalry games can be tough, but UH’s depth and talent showed in the end.
On to Boise and the DHC!
Hats off to Chaminade, though. They were ready to play. Shastri droppped 25 and is only a freshman.
When UH gets their transition game, and quick scoring oppotunities, they are fun to watch, and they can finish. Quite different from last 3 years. That Alley Oop Lob pass from Shamburger to a skying Quincy Smith was awesome. Q can really get up there.
UH get ready for a Bosie team that can score, think Chaminade as a DI team. Chaminade, kudos to the Silverswords, they have no fear of any DI team, wish them success chasing the DII national title., good team.
All Warrior Insider Nation, we should always, extend a great Mahalo to the Schmidts, Pacific Risk Solutions, Ameriprise, and Dayton and staff for video hilites. Without this great site, we would not be able to see great interviews, have a forum to chat up UH MBB, and see the best hilites of games. Since, a lot of us could not go to Kauai, or for some, like our family and self, cannot go out of home, we really say Thankyou, to Warrior Insider and Sponsors!
Go Bows!
Uhfanzonly1.
And great game, UH MBB team, plus outstanding effort by the Silverswords!
Too bad for their high scoring guard, who has tendinitis, that ailment, will probably be lifelong, Bill Walton, had it, from High School days, cut short his long NBA career. Hope that Christophe Varidel will finish school and get his degree, as well as enjoy his stay in Hawaii. Chaminade, good coach, and hard working young guys too! Great battle with UH every time!
Thank you Pacific Risk Solutions and Valerie Schmidt/Ameriprise for your continuing sponsorship of WarriorInsider!
Not only is this site great for fans, but I’m sure it helps recruiting when families of players know they can come here to see game highlights, player interviews, practice video, etc. to help hem stay connected to their sons and to this rising program.
Dayton, great work as always. Mahalo!
And you too Wes, great coverage, thanks!
NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball RPI rank as of Dec 14 2013.
Diamond Head Classic teams rank before start of this week Dec 15 -Dec 20 2013
Diamond Head Classic, huge step up in caliber of teams, outside of Hawaii’s games against ranked Missouri, and top 150 team NMSU.
I like Hawaii’s chances at home. They can score. One thing obvious, if Hawaii plays, teams that are just as quick and bigger on perimeter, can cause problems. Also, UH going against bigger, more physical athletic Bigs, can be challenge. Hawaii just has to shoot well, uptempo,rebound and get hustle 50/50 ball.. and play solid individual and team defense. If UH can go 2-1, solid, if the go 3-0 with the DHC championship, awesome!
Jackson W. says, he wants to see UH beat a Div I team RPI rated in top 100, well looks like UH has chance to do that. Go Bows!
😀
Team and RPI ranking Dec 14 2013.
St. Mary’s-9
Iowa St.-12
Boise St.-50
South Carolina-79
Akron-98
George Mason-134
Hawaii- 171
Oregon St.-173
Actually NMSU ranking RPI at 68, so top 100 ..
sorry Aggies!
Go Bows!
😀
Pomeroy Ratings: (12-15-2013)
PRE-Diamond Head Classic
Iowa State – 22
Saint Maryʻs – 29
Boise State – 71
Akron – 88
Oregon State – 108
S.Carolina – 112
Hawaiʻi – 125
George Mason – 130
Iowa State VS George Mason (1 v 8)
Oregon State VS Akron (4 v 5)
S. Carolina VS St. Maryʻs (2 v 6)
Hawaiʻi VS Boise State (3 v 7)
Pretty Good Pairings by ESPN, Huh?
Eagle: How in the world would ESPN know, months ahead of time, that the matchups, would be so well seeded, like the NCAA tournament? Should be a good DHC. Once again, if UH is playing their A+ game, great Defense, of 3 line to the rim, I would not count out, UH winning 2 or 3 and possible championship. Anyone of the 8 teams could win tournament. No Louisville, Kentucky, Arizona, Duke , Michigan St or North Carolina in the field , as of this year, maybe in the future?
Go Bows!
😀
Yup, Even Top-Rated Iowa State Must Navigate and Survive Three Potential Upsets against (All) Top 130 Teams…
And we know it often doesn’t take long for Top Seeds to fall, some years, in multiples …
The Home Beds and Home Court, The Energizing Crowd, give a Good Home Team a Puncher’s Chance for a Knock-out…
On its Homecourt, Hawai’i May Be Capable of overcoming, over-achieving, out-hustling or even just out-playing any team on any given night, and we hope one season soon, maybe even This One, they Re-elevate Themselves so that many or most nights they are Challenging and even in The Semi-Final or Championship Game…
——-
Win One
Win Two? (They’re “Dangerous”!)
Win Three? (They’re Contenders)
Eagle- Holy cow. Don’t know how long ago they set up the bracket, but you’re right. They nailed it.
Whether Lucky or Good, Doing Well IS Good
And A Lot of Really Good, Hard-Working People i know will Take Lucky Any Day…
Itʻs a Good Thing for The Tournament and Fans when Seedings are ʻFairʻ
The Method Coach Gib talked about on his last Coaches Show (taught to him by … ?)
was, As The Host Team, to pull The Team Names out of a Hat;
You pull a Name, IF you donʻt like it, Pull Another Name ʻtil you get one you like…
…i think Riley used a “Seeding” Approach
with Hawaiʻi in the Number One or Championship Game & Bracket for Starters
It mightʻve been Wise to Automatically Position Hawaiʻi in The Late-Night Game
Like ESPN tries to do to support National TV And Home Attendance
…. THINGS SEEM TO BE LINING UP…
Probably as important, or more important than scout for Boise St. Broncos, the guys doing well this Fall Semester. See if they can match or better this past spring’s GPA. Make sure all the scholies and preferred walkons, on the great young student athletes are doing well in school. Student…before Athlete..I have a feeling, this group, are working hard, along with the Academic advisors, tutors, to get it done. If they all do well on finals, and no academic casualties , or worse, UH MBB team will be in good frame of mind during winter break, then can concentrate on getting back to Basketball season.
Do well guys on your finals! Then, have coaches do good scout, and work on defense, holding teams down below 70 ppg if you all can!
Uhfanzonly1.
Go Rainbows!
UHMB better bring their A game against Boise St. And if they win that one they will need an A+ if they end up playing St. Mary’s. Chaminade is no slouch although we won it with a C game. Diamond Head Classic is step up time. We’ll see how deep this team can dig.
too bad the game wasn’t on Saturday…we probably lose 1500 fans because it’s a sunday game
One word: DEFENSE..Hawaii can play stifling defense and score close to 86+ points with backing of 6000+ fans..UH can beat the Broncos..should be fun game..shootout. .Hawaii hung with a very good Missouri. team on the road..they can compete with any team in the classic..the 3 bigs for Hawaii have to come up big..maybe as Gib stated, use Aaron and Mike T more..UH this season will win as team..
Like Eagle said….time for the team to focus on their studies this week. Get it done then be ready to play hard from Sunday. We look forward to seeing all the families that will be on island to see their sons playing hard during the holiday break.
Can’t wait till Sunday!!!!!
Hey Hawaiifan09,
Back in the days of the Fabulous Five, games were scheduled for Friday and Saturday, week after week. Great crowds ! Fans love it. Players love it. Easier to study around a regular schedule. Games scheduled for Friday and Saturday night are fan friendly !!
Might have been when Larry Little was coach because of travel for teams and when UH joined the WAC that UH went Thursday. .Saturday, or spacing games by one day..tournanent play old Rainbow. Classic. Days. 2nd nite bracket winners went 3 nites in a row. I agree if games were schedule . Friday and late Sunday afternoon would be good. Like AC / Alika days. If team wins a lot and are exciting, people will come ,however. TV and economy, parking limit older fans. Key . Jamie Smith. Ben Jay keep on working on campus UH students. to come out. Ben is trying. maybe turn a whole section 2000 seats for UH student. Maybe, in a couple of years.UH just gotta keep winning. fans will come out!! This team is One Ohana!!
Go Bows!!
😀
Eagle, Valerie and Uhfanzonly1, spot on , we all know GPA and progressing toward graduation for scholarship guys and walkons,too so vital , that is key to success for team to end fall semester. As Uhfanzonly1 says student. First, athlete Second.
Hope team has 3.0 or better cumulative GPA.
DO WELL ON FINALS GUYS!!