Warriors face HPU across the island on Saturday
It never hurts to take a pre-test. That’s basically what the University of Hawai’i basketball team will do this weekend when it travels to Laie, O’ahu, to face NCAA Division II Hawai’i Pacific on Saturday afternoon.
Although the home gyms for UH-Manoa and HPU are less than one mile apart, the two programs will bus 35 miles across the island to play on another campus – Brigham Young-Hawai’i.
For the Rainbow Warriors, it is part of the preparation for the Patty Mills North Shore Classic, which will take place on November 25 and 26 at BYUH’s Cannon Activities Center.
The Warriors are 2-1 after a second-place finish in the Outrigger Rainbow Classic. The HPU Sharks are 2-0, with recent home wins over Alaska-Anchorage and Alaska-Fairbanks.
It is worth noting that the final result (and statistics) will count as a regular-season game for Hawai’i only. It is an exhibition game for HPU, meaning the final result (and statistics) will not count toward the season record for the Sharks.
Saturday’s contest is scheduled to start at 12 noon. It will not be televised, but ESPN Honolulu will provide radio coverage (92.7 FM, 1420 AM, espnhonolulu.com, Sideline Hawaii app).
Hawai’i is coming off a heartbreaking 62-59 overtime loss to Yale in the championship game of the Rainbow Classic.
Hawai’i head coach Eran Ganot has used the same starting lineup for all three games so far: Noel Coleman and JoVon McClanahan at guards, and Samuta Avea, Kamaka Hepa and Bernardo da Silva in the frontcourt.
Coleman, a 6-foot-2 junior, leads the Warriors in scoring (16.7), assists (3.0) and 3-pointers made (8). The duo of 6-9 junior da Silva and 6-10 senior Hepa have established an inside presence, with da Silva at 12.0 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, and Hepa at 10.0 points and 6.7 rebounds.
As might be expected for a game between NCAA-I and NCAA-II teams, the Warriors will have a size advantage. HPU’s tallest starter is 6-8 Trey Chapman, who is averaging 9.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.
The Sharks are led by Marquis Moore, a 6-6, 220-pound sophomore forward who is averaging 16.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. Jalen Chandler, a 6-6 senior forward, is contributing 12.0 points per game, and he hit the game-winning 3-pointer in HPU’s 74-73 win over Alaska-Anchorage.
HPU head coach Darren Vorderbruegge is in his 15th season leading the Sharks. HPU struggled to a 5-22 record last season, including 2-18 in the Pacific West Conference.
Also of note, BYUH had a men’s basketball team from 1978-2017, but this is Hawai’i’s first official game at the Cannon Activities Center.
HAWAI’I (2-1) vs. HAWAI’I PACIFIC (2-0)
When: Saturday, November 19, 12:00 p.m.
Where: Cannon Activities Center, Laie, Oahu
TV: None
Radio: ESPN Honolulu (92.7 FM, 1420 AM, espnhonolulu.com, Sideline Hawaii app)
Tickets: eTicketHawaii.com
That’s disappointing it won’t be televised. Not all of us have the time to make the cross-island trek to watch the game! Does that mean next week’s game won’t be televised either?