Warrior Insider

The University of Hawai’i basketball team welcomed back head coach Eran Ganot with a convincing 91-51 victory over Maine on Sunday.

A crowd of around 3,000 at the Stan Sheriff Center watched the Rainbow Warriors improve to 9-5, while the Black Bears dropped to 3-10. Ganot missed the first 13 games of this season while on a medical leave of absence.

Eddie Stansberry ended a recent shooting slump to score a game-high 21 points for the Warriors. Samuta Avea added 17 points, Bernardo da Silva had 11 points and six rebounds, and Justin Webster scored 10 for Hawai’i. Da Silva, a freshman forward, made the first start of his collegiate career.

Hawai’i opened the game by shooting 4 for 5 from the field and 2 for 2 on free throws to take a 13-3 lead that it would not relinquish the rest of the game. Stansberry, who shot 2 for 28 from 3-point range in his previous three games, went 3 for 3 from 3-point range in the game’s first six minutes.

The Warriors led by as many as 20 points late in the first half and held a 44-27 lead at halftime. Avea scored 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting in the first half.

Midway through the second half, the Warriors doubled the scored on Maine, leading 76-38. The Hawai’i reserves played the final nine minutes, and all 11 Warriors who saw action scored.

Up next for the Warriors is the start of the Big West Conference regular season. They will travel for road games at Cal State Fullerton on January 9 and at UC Irvine on January 11. The next home game is scheduled for January 16 against Cal Poly.

More details, including video highlights and interviews, will be posted later.