UPDATED: Warriors come up short in OT loss to Irvine
The University of Hawai’i basketball team had the slingshot ready, but the aim was a bit off. The Warriors had their worst shooting night in three years, but still came up just four points short in a 60-56 overtime loss to UC Irvine on Thursday night.
A crowd of 6,493 at the Stan Sheriff Center departed in frustration after the Warriors were unable to slay the first-place Anteaters for a second time this season. Less than a month ago, Hawai’i scored a 90-86 overtime upset over UC Irvine at Irvine, Calif.
“I told the guys I was proud of them,” head coach Gib Arnold said. “I thought we played really hard. I thought we played great defensively. Didn’t turn the ball over, we played smart … I’ll never lose a minute of sleep over a loss where I thought we played hard, and played smart, and played together. We did those three things tonight. Ball didn’t go in the hole. Sometimes you have those nights.”
The Warriors dropped to 18-8 overall and fell to fourth place in the Big West Conference at 7-5. The Anteaters improved to 18-9 and remained alone in first place at 9-2.
Hawai’i scored a season-low 56 points, and shot just 29.6 percent from the field (16 for 54). It was the lowest shooting percentage by a Hawai’i team since the 2010-11 season (Arnold’s first season as head coach).
Most hurtful, the Warriors went 0 for 5 from the field in the five-minute overtime. UC Irvine out-scored Hawai’i 9-5 in the extra period, with the Warriors going 5 for 6 on free throws. The Warriors closed the game by going 1 for 12 from the field in the game’s final 11 minutes – 1 for 7 in the final six minutes of regulation, then 0 for 5 in overtime.
“They did a great job on us defensively, as we did a great job on them defensively,” Arnold said.
Aside from the shooting, the Warriors did the job in virtually every other phase. The Anteaters shot just 37.9 percent, and the rebounding was almost even (UC Irvine grabbed 41 to Hawai’i’s 40). The Warriors also committed just eight turnovers, and converted 87 percent from the free-throw line (20 of 23). UC Irvine went just 10 for 20 on free throws.
Still, not a single Warrior had a consistent shooting night. Christian Standhardinger led the scoring with 12 points – 2 for 9 from the field and 8 for 8 on free throws. Isaac Fotu contributed a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds. In the win at UC Irvine last month, Fotu shot 13 for 16 from the field. This time, he went 3 for 8.
“I think we let them control the tempo a bit more this game,” Fotu said. “Usually we score in the 80s … we didn’t really play like how we like to play. We like playing up and down and we let them control the tempo tonight and that’s a negative for us.”
Garrett Nevels added 10 points, but went 3 for 12 from the field; Keith Shamburger (2 for 7) added seven points, seven rebounds and three assists; Brandon Spearman (3 for 10) had six points and six rebounds; Davis Rozitis (2 for 5) also had six points and six rebounds.
“Tonight we just didn’t really break their zone like the last game,” Nevels said. “We got a lot of good looks (at Irvine). Tonight, it just worked for them.”
Hawai’i led by as many as seven points in both the first and second halves, but could not run away from the slow-paced Anteaters.
“They play slow, they zone, they’re big, they take a lot of time off the shot clock, so unless you get some shots in transition, it’s hard to speed a team up like that,” Arnold said. “And if it stays close, its even tougher … the game stayed close the entire game, obviously an overtime game, and we could never get that tempo going.”
The Warriors had a 20-13 lead in the first half, and settled for a 26-25 lead at halftime. The tone was set early, as Hawai’i shot just 27.3 percent (6 for 22) in the first half.
The Warriors pushed their lead back up to 38-31 early in the second half, but the Anteaters chipped away and eventually caught the Warriors when Will Davis II hit a jumper from close range to give UC Irvine a 50-49 lead with 4:44 remaining.
Spearman put the Warriors back in front at 51-50 with a running shot in the lane with 2:59 remaining. The Anteaters tied it 20 seconds later when Mamadou Ndiaye hit one of two free throws.
Each team had three possessions in the closing minutes of regulation, but neither could score.
Davis scored on an alley-oop dunk on the first possession of overtime, and the Anteaters stayed in front the rest of the way. They converted seven of 10 free throws in overtime to keep the Warriors at a distance.
“I don’t think we played all that well tonight, but I thought we competed and took care of the ball,” Irvine head coach Russell Turner said. “There’s toughness to this team and we earned it by playing a difficult non-conference schedule.”
The Anteaters relied on their usual balanced attack with four players in double-figures: Luke Nelson scored 12, and Davis, Chris McNealy and Ndiaye scored 11 each. Ndiaye, the 7-foot-6 freshman goliath, scored all 11 of his points in the second half and overtime. He also grabbed eight of his nine rebounds after intermission.
“Mamadou was a little down on himself at halftime, so I challenged him and he responded.” Turner said.
The Warriors will remain at home for another Big West game on Saturday, when they host UC Davis.
“The season’s not over, so we have to keep our heads up and just keep winning games,” Nevels said. “We got another one on Saturday.”
(Game photos courtesy Brandon Flores / www.brandonfloresphotography.com)
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PHOTO GALLERY
Thursday’s Big West results
UC Irvine 60, Hawai’i 56 (OT)
Cal State Fullerton 67, Cal Poly 59
UC Santa Barbara 55, UC Riverside 54
Long Beach State 79, UC Davis 57
Bad shooting night. Eh. Got it out of system. We have very good shooters that will be that much better if ever we play UC Irvine, or similarly tall teams again. Our guys will learn how to adapt. Practice a little.
Great job by Davis!! He will do better next time as well.
UC Irvine may be the class of the league with Ndiaye, . (And he will be better by the time he is a senior.) But we split two overtime games with them. And more likely than not, we will hit a few more shots if play them in the tournament. I think we will be ready!
If there is the ‘Thursday night game jinx’, (study schedules, sleep schedules, cafeteria schedules?, whatever), I think it is more important t note that we have been playing well on the road, since the tournament is all road games.
I am ready to focus on the net game.
Go Bows !!
Next game, that is.
.
Making it Hard
Get No.19 This Week…
Show Us THAT Improvement
WIN Over A BIG Saturday Night Crowd
LOCK ‘EM IN fot
SET-UP a BIG Landmark Road Trip
AND BIG Senior Night Finish…
[THAT Would Also Set-Up a Big BWC Tourney…]
[Dayton & Co. — Please Delete ‘Earlier’ DUPLICATE ]
Making it Hard
Get No.19 This Week…
Show Us THAT Improvement
WIN Over A BIG Saturday Night Crowd
LOCK ‘EM IN for This And NEXT Season
So We START With HIUGE Crowds All Season Long
SET-UP a BIG Landmark Road Trip
AND BIG Senior Night Finish…
[THAT Would Also Set-Up a Big BWC Tourney…]
After a game like that, we need some schadenfreude. At least I’m not taking the game as badly as this guy Jason Peters over here:
http://espn.go.com/ncb/conversation?gameId=400503035
Well at least UH screwed over some gamblers.
UH played Thursday night games all year:
Beat Tennesse St 85-55
Beat UH-Hilo 114-63
Beat New Orleans 91-58
No trouble scoring.
UH has played better teams than Irvine. Maybe the best comparison to Irvine is New Mexico St., in terms of having giant centers and playing them in Hawaii. Well UH scored 88 against NMSU.
So we knew what Irvine was: A young inconsistent team that can’t score on the road. That held up, Irvine only scored 51 in regulation.
Even UC Davis scored 59, and Riverside scored 52 against Irvine. UH is supposed to be in that company?!
Ah well UH has had good times this year, but this team is missing important pieces still. Best fix in college is a good point guard. Shamburger has helped this team by cutting down turnovers, but he only had 1 assist in 2nd half and that was on a 3 pointer.
Really, really, wanted the win….so close, thought we had them when we were up by 7. Looking forward to the win on Saturday.
Eagle says I am always looking at the upbeat angle, so here we go:
Congrats to Fotu for getting Player of the Game. Maybe the student section wearing their ‘fros helped! It was “Wig Nite” because every game is a party, and the Afros were in full effect. All in honor of “Fro tu”! I was happy to sport my green braided hair. I was matching with the band leader!
Two more games at home. One on Saturday and then it is Senior Nite. The focus will be on the seniors: Brandon, Christian and Davis. All wonderful men, the tri-captains, that bring the team together!
Talking to various fans, everyone is looking forward to Anaheim and then we shall see where the team will play next.
Whenever there is struggle, we need to reflect on how far we have come. This year is truly different than last year. We as fans are disappointed at every loss now, because we know the team can win every game. We never had that expectation in the past. This shows you how the team has evolved. Even the fans have evolved, thanks to Jamie Smith. We aren’t even surprised to see giant heads in the audience. We just know that Jamie, in all his creativity, will come up with something else great.
Through this evolution of the team and the fans, we have new expectations and this alone shows our greatness. Proud to have the UH men as OUR Team. Go Bows!
Good effort ,just have to shoot better if Spear hit that 3 from the corner or Nevels hit that floater over Mamadou awesome. Move on and get 4 game win streak and go 3-0 in BWC Tournament This te will do that I habe complete.confidence in team in 10 years
Need guards to get hot .They will win in Anaheim, team is on mission.
Go Bows!?
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…and Great to have Valerie ON And Family Sponsoring This Site and Team !
Good Point … i’m Actually Listening for WINS on the Road — Not Just Staying Close or In The Game
Hope Davis is ‘Always Around’ For Hunter…And All of Us…
Another Plus — Christian’s Roar on the Scoreboard
That’s a lot of Happy Laughs!
GREAT to See The Players Teaching the Cheers!
Good win .Go 5-0 to end tournament NCAA BOUND!!
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Go Bows!!
Thank you Valerie Schmidt, Schmidt Ohana, Ameriprise, and Pacific Risk Solutions, this forum is great. A truly, and moderated by Dayton, Fan, Family, Future Recruit and friends site!
Once again, Keith Shamburger had awesome several minute post game interview with Gary Dickman. Young guy came across, balanced, calm, mature, sense of humor, admitted need to get better shooting, knew that team if stay together, can make a run a NCAA tournament. I was impressed as were several hundred, possibly who listened to radio interview. Keith, the PG position is in good hands. When your shot starts to drop from 18-21 feet, and Spearman, Nevels, Enos, all start to hit regularly at home , final 2 games and on YOUR home Cali road games, including Anaheim, I am in agreement with playhoopsa and UHF, they say, UH run the table 4-0 to end regular season and 3-0 to go to dance. Nevels said about a week ago, to the doubters, even their own team and fans, WHY NOT UH MBB team? They play starting this Saturday, pedal to the metal, on offense and defense, and not having to play against Mamadou and great defensive Irvine team until tournament, UH can win 7 games in a row and go to NCAA’s, I believe, now team just keep on shooting. In Cali, the guys play awesome now, Anaheim, will be the Magic Kingdom for UH’s 5th NCAA appearance, and hopefully 2 or 3 wins in that tournament, hey FANS, if team wants our never say die support, we have to BELIEVE TOO, UH run the table over next 7 games, and go out and win 2 or 3 or more in NCAA’s, WHY NOT UH MBB? Right on. Go warriors!
Bummer night, disappointing crowd attendance, was there and hoping for a packed house or close to it for a change with all on the line, cheez we need to shoot a lot better from the outside on all the zones we are facing and why we can’t win in OUR HOUSE and Protect it is puzzling. Hopefully we need and will turn it around tomorrow night ,be there ,support our guys, Warriors need to beat these Aggies and horse whip them Saturday Nite, We gotta win ,come on Warriors, Do it!! I got my tickets for the tournament, Do Some DAMAGE!!
Ok we lost. The good news is the sun still rose and it’s another day. Second place finish is pretty good too. We need that 20 wins so we can have NIT consideration if we don’t make it to the Dance. Anything can happen in tournament play. A hot team can come from the bottom and win it all as was the case one year when Hawaii came from about 5th place to beat Utah for the WAC crown. The team gotta stay focused and committed to playing their best ball towards the end. Remember, if the Little Train Could, you could too.
Assuming the best … this Saturday will be the bounce back win over UC Davis, then the road streak keeps going with wins at Long Beach and UC Santa Barbara, followed by a win back home on Senior Night. Second place is very, very possible if the boys can pull that off. It would set up a nicer path through the Big West Tournament. Still lots to play for!
Hawaii needs to win out to make it to the big
Dance.it will be really exciting if they can
Make to the ncaa’s
I really feel hawaii is the best team in the big
West.if hawaii is on their game nobody can beat
Them.warriors number 1.
Well, let’s put this one behind us and look forward to a great game on Saturday.
Go Rainbow Warriors!!!
In the closing of the 4th quarter and overtime Christian needs to step up and he failed terribly to do so against UCI. Standhardinger is the leading scorer and a starting Senior… he needs to step up in crunch time.
Valerie and Eagle you would wholeheartedly agree, there Still Is a Lot of Interest in UH MBB! Must be a dozen or more, regulars that post comments, supporting coach and team!
We want UH to go far. Still potential to play a lot more Basketball games. UH keep on winning, they can go as far as they want in Post Season.
i.e. Trevor Ruffin 1994 team went on to meet Syracuse in opening round NCAA. Savo led two time WAC tourney champs, met Syracuse and then Xavier in opening round. I think if UH makes it, and I think they can , to NCAA, they could win a opening round game. as Gib states, and team knows, ALL 5 starters have to be playing really well. This team, AFTER loss, and tough ones…they come back and get on a winning streak! go Bows, win out, and win BWC tourney, YOU guys can do it.
Go Rainbow(Tonganator too, and your Ohana cheering OCsport.com feed)WARRIORS…Go THE MIGHTY WARRIORS!
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we need to get rid of gib or hire another coach that “CAN COACH”…..he is a horrible coach in that he doesn’t know how to sub players and has no offensive plays….every game I’ve seen the players just pass the ball around the perimeter and no movement…..why the hell you bring in enos at the end of the game who is super cold and knew he wouldn’t play…that is in the final seconds when we need a 3…..I don’t blame any players but all the blame on gib and assistants!!!!!
hfan09: one thingGib will be here awhile. If UH had Negus and Jankov they would be hitting outside shots or attacking rim. The current guards have to hit shots against zone. Yes agree UH like in past work ball around perimeter. .for awhile even Nevels had open looks and hesitated. Would think UH can defend ..practices. focus on shooting and working scheme against Mamadou anchored zone. Ben Jay will not be looking for new coach since Gib will win 20+ games this year and will be even better next season.
Keep the faith hfan.we wer all disappointed in close loss!!
Go Bows!!
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Hfan. Dyrbe because of speed of game perhaps liability on defense. If guards cannot hit 3 pointers and they need too to go post season.Agree Gib should insert Dyrbe early in games at 2 spot or shooting combo point. Agree with hoopsa guards not hitting 17 to 22 foot jump shots difference in game. If UH hit two more threes ,they win in regulation. Hfan, no sense linger on this or these tough 3 home losses..Gib cannot shoot for his team, as hoopsa says just focus now on shooting , UH defense very good now. And true when team still has shot to win 20 plus games and go NCAA’s don’t think Jay will fire Gib. Keep supporting team..they have good chance to go Big Dance!! Team keep working ball to bigs and guards hit shots. UH should have run attack basket sll nite whether mamadou in or not ..one thing UH has to score high 70’s to 80’s to win.
What happened to Brandon Jawato? Isn’t he supposed to be our zone breaker??
Hackman , Harper or Jawato..must be as winbows says ability to defend. .if they can run with starters in practice they will play..look like rotation is the first eight and then Enos..situationa. .Jovanovich could bother Mamadou..war Jawato bad ankles should have had surgery. .hope Jawato, Harper and Hackman get shot however as of now they are down the rotation, great guys work as hard as first teamers in practice.
yes you can say players didn’t hit shots but what plays did we see gib set up at the end?