Warriors shoot past Sacramento State in North Shore opener, 74-61
The University of Hawai’i basketball team got the inaugural Patty Mills North Shore Classic started in impressive fashion with a 74-61 victory over Sacramento State on Friday afternoon.
The opening game of the four-team tournament was staged before a crowd of 1,225 at the Cannon Activities Center on the campus of Brigham Young-Hawai’i in La’ie, O’ahu.
The Rainbow Warriors led from start to finish and shot 60 percent from the field to improve 4-1 this season. The Hornets from the Big Sky Conference dropped to 3-3.
Hawai’i will face either Texas State for the championship of the tournament on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. at the CAC. Sacramento State will play Southern Utah for third place at 4:30. Texas State defeated Southern Utah, 78-65, in Friday’s late game.
Noel Coleman led the Warriors with 20 points, including 4-of-7 shooting from 3-point range. Bernardo da Silva added 16 points on 8-of-12 shooting. Samuta Avea (4 for 6) and Harry Rouhliadeff (4 for 5) also had sharp shooting nights in adding nine points each.
The Warriors raced to an 11-5 lead to open the game and remained on target throughout the first half. Hawai’i shot an impressive 74 percent (20 for 27) from the field in the first 20 minutes, including 80 percent (4 for 5) from 3-point range.
Da Silva scored 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting in the first half, and Rouhliadeff added seven points on 3-of-4 shooting in nine minutes off the bench.
The Warriors were never really threatened in the second half, and led by as many as 22.
More details, including video highlights and interviews, will be posted later.
