Warriors hold off Nebraska, 66-58
Aaron Valdes scored 15 points and grabbed six rebounds, Garrett Nevels added 10 points and seven boards and Isaac Fleming contributed 10 points and six rebounds tonight as Hawai’i held off Nebraska, 66-58, in the first round of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic.
A spirited crowd of 8,448 at the Stan Sheriff Center also watched Roderick Bobbitt post seven points, four assists and four rebounds as the Rainbow Warriors improved to 9-3. The Cornhuskers fell to 6-4.
UH will face No. 11-ranked Wichita State (9-1) in Tuesday’s semifinal bracket at 4 p.m.
Nevels’ 3-pointer with 3:09 remaining broke a 53-53 tie, and after Benny Parker closed it to 59-57 on an acrobatic reverse layup with 52.5 seconds left, the Rainbow Warriors closed it out by sinking seven of eight free throws down the stretch.
Nebraska trailed 34-23 at halftime but came out roaring after the break, scoring on its first three possessions to cut the lead to 34-29 after Shavon Shields’ layup with 18:39 remaining. Mike Thomas finally broke the string with a baseline jumper to make it 36-29, but Terran Petteway sank two free throws to start a 9-2 run capped by Walter Pitchford’s 3-pointer which tied it at 38-38 with 14:36 left.
Fleming scored a layup to put the Rainbow Warriors back up, 40-38, but Pitchford answered with a 3-pointer and Parker followed with a baseline jumper to give the Cornhuskers a 43-40 lead with 12:21 remaining.
Switching back to three-quarter court pressure, Valdes got a steal and then a slam dunk to start an 8-0 run capped by Valdes’ spectacular one-handed alley-oop slam dunk off Quincy Smith’s halfcourt pass, making it 48-43 with 8:06 left. But Nebraska fired back again, this time with three straight layups to go back ahead, 49-48, on Smith’s layup with 5:07 remaining.
Hawai’i built a solid 34-23 halftime lead with stifling defense. Using three-quarter court pressure and then tight man-to-man coverage, Rainbow Warriors forced 11 turnovers and limited Nebraska to 30 percent shooting from the field (7 of 23).
After UH jumped out to a 9-3 lead in the first four minutes, the Cornhuskers went on a 10-2 run capped by Petteway’s driving layup with 12:25 remaining to make it 13-11. But Smith answered with a tough left-handed layup in traffic and completed a 3-point play to put the Rainbow Warriors back up, 14-13, igniting a 9-1 surge capped by Valdes’ putback and free throw that made it 20-14 with 7:22 left in the half.
Nebraska closed it to 21-19 on a layup by Tarin Smith with 5:40 remaining, but Hawai’i closed out the half with an 11-2 run bookended by Thomas’ putback and Bobbitt’s steal and breakaway layup with 1:01 left.
More details, including video highlights and interviews, will be posted later.
Monday’s Results
George Washington 77, Ohio 49
Colorado 82, DePaul 68
Wichita State 80, Loyola Marymount 53
Hawai’i 66, Nebraska 58
Tuesday’s Schedule
9:30 a.m. – Ohio vs. DePaul
11:30 a.m. – Colorado vs. George Washington
4 p.m. – Hawai’i vs. Wichita State
6:30 p.m. – Nebraska vs. Loyola Marymount
Time to SHOCK THE SHOCKERS!!!
So, gibis*******, looking for a new name? Try “okole”.
njacinto: This Team, real Warriors… DEFENSE and FT shooting, take care of the ball… smart.. huge 3 point shot by Nevels and Bobbitt, winners all.. WHOLE TEAM WIN…Janks just getting into shape.. he will help.. MT, Jovanovich, Quincy, Fleming. … good floor game..
AND the team shooting NOT GOOD on offense.. still pull out win.. DEFENSE and take care of ball, smart to close out games.. wowwww!!
Rainbow Warriors.. and pupule, gibn..what???
Rainbow Warriors and Benjy doing great job .. good job, good job..
9-3.. and onto the Shockers !! Weed Wack the Shockers !!
Go Bowss !!
Wow !!!
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Jackson Wheeler… ha, ha, haaaaaaah.. !! Jeff P.ahhhhhh !!
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Good Win and
Good game, servante…warriorhaw, eagle, know you guys were there, unless emergency. must have been great IN PERSON.. tomorrow at 400pm HST on ESPN.. national spotlight.. Bows play lights out !!
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rbl : new moniker is right, guy or gal should go back to HS.. sheesh !!
Ditto, 1000x, have to respect this forum and the team, families, the Schmidts, Dayton, and all the faithful fans.. my guess, just a jv team, local park league reject.. ha, ha, ha..
really, win or lose. UH.. what they have dealt with, and ESPN spelled it out loud and clear what went down past 12 months, everything.. and they credit team and Benjy keeping team together..
What ? g….pap…mimic…
Go Bows.. Great win !!
gib_ogood = Pupule = ?
Jackson: UH hasn’t played anybody good …
Great win for the bows!
From the beginning of the game we were the better team. It was nice that their stud had to sit for a lot of the game because of foul trouble but I truly felt that the bows were the better team for 40 full minutes. It was NOT a fluke win. Bows were the better team and like the announcers said at the end of the game they deserved to win.
Team forged together to get the win and we looked good all around. Jankovic looking good even with the rust. 5 solid points and played some decent D. This team, if they can stay healthy, is going to be a force to be reckoned with. Bobbit makes the team run, Nevels is hitting shots again, Chan coming back at the end with some big shots, and Mike Thomas is the work horse who does not get the credit he deserves. And did i mention SHOWTIME Fleming? That boy looked good tonight.
This team is crazy fun to watch and i think they can dang well give Wichita st. a run for their money tomorrow and maybe upset another big name team. LETS GO BOWS!!
Its all coming together. Great Win !!
Hats off the the Coaching staff !! Sniffles and all.
islandman…. must be? right? that , I still think it might be a co-ed UH CC student.. short, very short blurbs, tweet, . just hit and run, nothing substantial..
I guess everyone entitled however, what is he/she trying to Prove ? Gib is not coach anymore.. as Mamma Valdes says.. we support current coach whomever and the guys who are working their butts off for Hawaii.
I personally appreciate this team, and what Benjy , Que , Loyd and Autry who did the Nebraska scout.. they as a staff, FANTASTIC job..
Wait until, Jankovich gets his game lungs and legs…high skillset.. Jovanovich, to bang, Stef can play too, could imagine, BOTH Stefs I and II in BWC play at same time.
islandman.. as I think.. UH finish 2014 11-5, 12-4 or wow.. 13-3…fantastic.. just keep on getting better.
And servante and the hoops gurus.. Bobbitt is the Real Deal.. another AC, Mark Campbell, Troy Bowe, Jerome Freeman, Tom,.. well oh, oh, he Thomas H. was NBA champ.. maybe oneday for Bobbitt, Nevels, Smith and Fleming, what a group of great guards.. BWC time.. still think it is a guard/forward driven league..
Great game..very happy for fans and team and families !!
gibn.. pupule….and mimic person.. All The same middle school kid.. definitely !!
just joking bruddah
warriorhaw, servante…and Eagle.. you all ,TAVS, Chuck, whomever,I cannot name all .. what a crowd,… good job for cheering too.
Benjy time out calls great, and rotation. and game plan.. Good Team and staff win !
Wheeler, ha, ha haaaaah.. Jeff P.. ahh…maybe you get chance against Shockers, shock them, Benjy.. we will give OUR BEST effort.. give a good game.. expect no less. Win of Lose. That is What UH MBB critics of schedule said right?? UH plays nobody.. right !! Well they playing the number 10 or 11 in the nation team !!
Wow !!
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Great win BOWZ…you made Warrior Nation Proud once again!
I think Benjy made all the right moves and at the right times…good job Coach.
We have some real WINNERS when it comes to crunch time and now even more people to go to.
Now comes one of those David vs Goliath games. The Shockers got to cruise tonight, starters only played about 24 minutes each. Aside from being currently 11th ranked, we only have about 17 hours before turnaround. The experience you got in Florida should help.
Let’s see if we can fill the stands for this one.
GO BOWZ!!!!
Tough game tomorrow at 4 pm. Many of us gotta work. Bummas jankovich gotta get his legs and body conditioned. Not a good game for him. But hasn’t played in real game for a while
jjay and all fans, winning 9 games out of 12, two wins against top 40 ACC and Big Ten schools, and now big challenge against very good Mid Major, probably the best in the nation.. at number 10..
wait until, the three pointers, and Benjy is right for Nevels, and Janks, just step in a few feet closer, no hesitation and shoot.. keep shooting, the shots will drop.. Question on the Big game, inside.. that would be Aaron V.. pogo stick, Air Cuba, quick jump vert .instead of being 6’5″ he is playing like a 6’8″ guy, he jumping not over the back,,around, over, and through guys 4 inches taller than him, incredible athlete.. he is the Inside Game guy, and all around motor.. MT just has to finish, get his hands strong, without some of his putbacks..down low, UH doesn’t win, he another inside guy, who has perimeter skills, and Janks and Jovan.. Stef 2.0.. they are The Real bigs, with Janks ability to go inside and out, his handle and ability to drive to rim from baseline, he is very skilled.. he has to get into game shape.. wait a few games..maybe even Wichita St… Stefan Jovanovich and Stefan Jankovich, I think key, to banging the Wichita St. bigs, they can be beaten.. good shooters and good guards.. Hawaii all season since Oct 28 doomsday, when UH MBB was falling, Benjy caught them and lifted them, carried them up.. even bye, bye Fotu and Sammis, Gib and Akana, the team is getting better.
Wait until the shots start to drop inside and out, they winning with Great Defense. especially that top, perimeter by the guards getting the steals.. completely disrupting teams. offensive sets..
Maybe against this Big ala BYU Wichita St team, with some athletes. Now NWC, can go up against guys bigger than he, and he can use his athleticism to blow by or get off his shots.. NWC is not a ball hog.. within system.. he get his offense going as well as Nevels, Jawato, and Janks..UH will even be better.
However, a win, is a win, is a WIN… Win or lose.. the effort against the Shockers, UH never, and they will never give up.. they Are Winners already.. Champions.. either way..
Great Team Win !!
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Wow! What a great game. Really great crowd. Loud and proud.
Loved the way BT subs. Keeps the guys fresh. They in long enough to get into rhythm. Seems that of the main guys they come out but not for long. See NO pouting faces. Even Fleming. Still need to reel him in some more. But as a frosh, he learning a lot. By the time he is senior, he will be a great leader.
Hey, who was it that predicted on 12 wins for the season? Hmmmmmm
Hope the guys get more sleep than I will get.
Go Bows!!!!!
warriorhaw: Some negative person, said when coach and players left UH team, Hawaii would not even win NINE games, well they are on their way towards number 10, 11, and more.. ESPN announcers, really commended Benjy for keeping team together, and the more the win, the Better for Benjy and Team.. You can tell even on camera, the unity the One Ohana, that is still there through adversity.. you just wait until, team starts hitting 46% FG, and 36 % from 3 line, and 78% from FT line, as well as their awesome defense and team rebounding.. Team will be a contender in BWC.. team is just getting started.. hey a 2-1 or even better yet 3-0 showing against great teams in the DHC, and the two last games at SSC on Dec 29th and 30th, will go a long way towards a great season. This team continues to impress.
Hope those that can make it, a least about 6000+ , know it is a work day.. however, a lot might take the day off, or leave work early? Should be great game against Wichita State, UH MBB respects every team, yet will NOT BACK down, and fears no team. They, would give Kentucky a run, why not, Columbia had the lead on Kentucky at Kentucky for at least a half.. had the Wildcats scared.. thus proving, Parity, and hard effort, Defense and togetherness, any NCAA DI or even DII team can beat the top 40 teams in the nation on any given night.
Hope you can make the game warriorhaw, or else listen radio, live stats, or have view at work on ESPN of game, or maybe you have pleasure of making the game at 400 pm with your Ohana.
enyoy it.. whatever happens, UH will give Great effort.. a Season of Redemption, a Season to Remember, a Season of overcoming great odds. One of the Feel good seasons of the last 30 years for sure .. SO FAR.. they are just getting STARTED
AND MUCH MAHALO to Dayton coverage, and the Schmidt Ohana, sponsoring WI site and sending Dayton at times on the road with the team, hopefully for many more wins, at least 20 or much more
!!
Go Warriors Go Bows !!
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Actually, RunBows, I will be there and listen on radio. It is just so hard to listen to a color commentator who knows nothing of the game and is so negative towards our Bows. Bobby is ok as a play by play guy.
Now get some sleep RunBows, we will need your Mana for tomorrows game. I be gone now. Zzzzzz
Being a season ticket holder for 25+ years I’ve seen so really good UH teams and some really bad teams.
Watching last night’s game is the reason I continue to support UH basketball. Can’t say enough good things of the team, the unity of the players, the coach and his staff. Making Hawaii proud.!!!