Warriors look to cultivate win streak on Garden Isle
The Neighbor Islands have been good to the University of Hawai’i basketball team in recent years. If the Warriors want to continue their recent trend of scoring an early-season victory on an island other than O’ahu, they will need to harvest a lot of points on the Garden Isle.
The Warriors will face neighbor school Chaminade on Saturday night at Kaua’i High School in Lihue, Kaua’i. The Neighbor Island game is part of what has become an annual tradition for the UH program since Gib Arnold became head coach in 2010. The Warriors are 4-0 in such games, with previous wins on Maui, the Big Island and Moloka’i.
“We got great (Neighbor Island) boosters that watch our games every time we play and cheer us on, and we just want to have the opportunity to play in front of them,” Arnold said. “We’ve been doing this every year and we’re going to continue doing that.”
The fans that attend the game – it will not be televised – should be treated to a high-scoring contest, perhaps similar to last season’s 104-93 Hawai’i victory over the Silverswords on Moloka’i.
“It was a high-scoring game – a lot of 3-pointers,” UH assistant coach Brandyn Akana said. “There’s going to be a lot of transition pushes, a lot of shots. We just hope to contain them, keep them from getting wide-open shots.”
The Warriors are 6-2 and on a four-game winning streak; the NCAA Division II Silverswords are 4-3, with all four wins against D-II competition, and all three losses against D-I teams in the Maui Invitational.
“It was a battle over there on Moloka’i (last year); everybody gotta bring their A game this year,” senior guard Brandon Spearman said. “They have a different team and I know in the Maui tournament they did good, so we’ll be ready for those guys.”
The Silverswords have an assortment of scoring options, including a trio of guards in 6-foot-3 senior Christophe Varidel, 6-foot junior Lee Bailey, and 6-6 freshman Kiran Shastri.
Varidel, a transfer from Florida Gulf Coast, is averaging 21.8 points per game and 4.3 3-pointers per game. He made national highlights last month when he made 10 3-pointers and scored 42 points in a loss to Baylor. Varidel sat out the last two games with an injury, but is expected to return on Saturday.
Bailey is averaging 16.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. He has scored 29 points in two different games this season.
Shastri is averaging 11.1 points per game, including a 37-point outing last weekend against Hawaii Pacific. He hit eight 3-pointers in that game, and is shooting 44 percent from 3-point range.
Akana, who scouted the Silverswords, said: “They all shoot 3s … most teams have two or three guys that don’t take a 3, but this team, Chaminade, they all shoot 3s.”
The Warriors will counter with their own balanced attack that features five starters averaging double-figure points: Christian Standhardinger (16.9), Garrett Nevels (14.0), Isaac Fotu (12.4), Brandon Spearman (11.8) and Keith Shamburger (10.1).
The Warriors’ advantage will be in the post, where 6-8 forwards Standhardinger and Fotu will likely be matched up against smaller Silverswords. Chaminade’s tallest player is 6-10 junior Frankie Eteuati, who is averaging 3.9 points and 3.4 rebounds as a reserve. All the other players on the Chaminade roster are 6-7 and shorter.
“We’re going to take advantage of that and we’re going to pound it inside,” Akana said. “We have Christian, Davis (Rozitis) and Fotu, so we’re just going to pound it and get the ball inside and hopefully get easy shots.”
Game 9 Tipoff Notes
Who: Hawai’i (6-2, 0-0 Big West) vs. Chaminade (4-3, 2-0 PacWest)
When: Saturday, Dec. 14, 2013
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Where: Kauai High School Gymnasium – Lihue, Kaua’i
Television: None
Streaming Video: None
Radio: Live on ESPN 1420 AM with Bobby Curran. 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 GoSwords.com
Ticket Information: Tickets are $5 in advance; $8 at the door. For more information call (808) 274-3169.
Bows…40 minutes of great basketball. .get the win..wil be a war!!
Go Bows!!
😀
St Mary’s just defeated Boise St in Boise… 82-74
St Mary’s controlled the game and led almost the whole way even with Boise shooting well. Boise is starting to show some cracks in the armor now that they have played better teams.
FUHA:
Saw that too. UH just keep getting better defensively, rebounding, and continue to score well. They will be ready for a pretty good, DI NCAA MBB team Diamond Head Classic. Should be a good one. Akron, , St Marys, Boise, Iowa St, etc. , UH has to get the Silverswords first, hope all the 14 roster guys have chance to play!
Go Rainbow Warriors!
😀
It seems like, a lot of parity in NCAA MBB this year, anyone of top 100-115, teams, in Division one, can beat each other on any given night. Like hoopsa, says, I like UH’s chances, though they don’t have the athletic, big center, yet….they will be good, and getting better by Big West Conference time, and as we all know, it comes down, to playing your best basketball, during March, and peaking at that time, and staying healthy. I am going to watch some of the home games, wish I could have flown to Lihue, however, work doesn’t permit, hey…fans, if you can, next week’s Diamond Head Classic, first round game with Boise St., see if you can go to that December 22, 2013 Sunday game, UH will be having a great battle with the Broncos!