El Paso, Texas, is not exactly Honolulu, but the Hawai’i basketball team is doing its best to make it feel like home.

The Warriors have set up a “mini-training camp” in El Paso this week in preparation for their game at New Mexico State on Thursday in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

El Paso is about a one-hour drive away from the New Mexico State campus, so the Warriors will bus to the game on Thursday afternoon. The Western Athletic Conference game is scheduled to start at 4:05 p.m. (Hawai’i time) at the Pan American Center.

“I’d rather be at home, don’t get me wrong,” Hawai’i head coach Gib Arnold said. “But under the circumstances, this is as good as it can get. We’ve gotten a lot done here, it really is like a mini-training camp. Just having this kind of access to facilities is exactly what we needed to make us feel comfortable.”

Texas-El Paso head coach Tim Floyd is a mentor and close friend of Arnold’s, so he allowed the Warriors to use the UTEP facilities this week.

“Even something like laundry – that’s something you might have to worry about on a long road trip like this, but (UTEP) let us do our laundry at their place,” Arnold said.

New Mexico State is not expected to be as hospitable on Thursday, when second place in the WAC will be on the line.

The Aggies are 20-8 overall and in second place in the WAC at 7-3. The Warriors are 15-11 overall and in fourth place at 6-4. A win by Hawai’i would forge a three-way tie for second place (Idaho, which does not play on Thursday, is 7-4).

The Warriors defeated the Aggies, 91-87, in Honolulu on January 21.

“We had some things that worked in that game and some things that didn’t,” Arnold said. “We’ll have to be at our best, because that’s a good team and a very tough place to play.”

The Aggies are led by Wendell McKines, who is making his case for WAC Player of the Year. The 6-foot-6 senior leads the conference in both scoring (18.3 points per game) and rebounding (10.4). He was “limited” to 14 points and nine rebounds in the loss at Hawai’i, as the Warriors used a variety of defenses against him.

Point guard Hernst Laroche is contributing 12.1 points and 3.6 assists per game, and center Hamidu Rahman is averaging 10.5 points and 6.1 rebounds per game for the Aggies. Bandja Sy had 17 points and 10 rebounds off the bench for the Aggies in the loss at Hawaii.

The Warriors led by as many as 19 points in the second half of the win over New Mexico State before the Aggies made it close in the final minutes with a full-court press.

“It was kind of a desperation press on their part, but because they had some success with it, we may see it again and we’ve worked on it,” Arnold said.

Vander Joaquim leads the Warriors in both scoring (14.9) and rebounding (9.9). He was battling flu-like symptoms earlier this week, but is expected to be ready for Thursday’s game.

Senior guard Zane Johnson scored a season-high 29 points in the win over New Mexico State, and is averaging 14.4 points per game. Junior forward Joston Thomas is contributing 14.0 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.

Sophomore forward Davis Rozitis played a key role off the bench in the win over the Aggies with nine points and five rebounds. He has also been feeling ill on the trip.

“New Mexico State is big, real big, and Davis was our MVP the last time we played them,” Arnold said. “We’ll need our bigs to have a good game again — control the boards.”

The Aggies (77.5) and Warriors (74.6) are the top two scoring teams in the WAC. They are also the top rebounding teams, with New Mexico State at 39.6, and Hawai’i at 38.2.

Thursday will be the second of three games during a 10-day road trip for the Warriors. Hawai’i lost a non-conference game at Montana (94-79) last Saturday, and will play another WAC game at Louisiana Tech on Saturday.

HAWAI’I AT NEW MEXICO STATE
When: Thursday, February 23, 4 p.m. (Hawai’i time)
Where: Pan American Center, Las Cruces, N.M.
TV: Live on OCSports (channel 12 or 1012)
Radio: Live on ESPN 1420 AM
Internet: Live video streaming available on www.espn3.com

(WarriorInsider.com file photos courtesy Brandon Flores)

The future of the Hawaii basketball program is on display every day in practice. For now, that’s where it has to stay – in practice.

The scout team for this year’s Warriors features six players: Tyler Brown, Brandon Jawato, Orel Lev, Pii Minns, Christian Standhardinger and Jace Tavita.

Four of them (Jawato, Lev, Standhardinger and Tavita) are redshirt players for the 2011-12 season, and thus will not be eligible to play in games until next season. This season, their job is to simulate the upcoming opponents during practices.

“We take on the role of the other team just to get the guys ready (for games),” said Tavita, who is considered the captain of the scout team

Tavita normally takes on the role of point guard; Jawato, Minns and the recently-added Lev rotate at the wings; Brown and Standhardinger take care of the post.

Perhaps as might be expected, the Warrior starters “win” the practice sessions on most days. But every so often, the scout team is able to pull off an upset – which upsets head coach Gib Arnold enough to send the starters on a series of extra sprints.

Arnold has high expectations for some of the scout players, going so far as stating that Standhardinger “has a chance to be our best player next year.”

Disclaimer: Davis Rozitis captured this episode of Da Beast Films two weeks ago, when the Hawai’i basketball team was in San Jose, California, for a road game at San Jose State.

Given the recent issues at the free throw line for the Warriors, it seems appropriate to release it now.

The Warriors’ struggles with free throws have been well-documented this season. Through 26 games, they have a .668 free throw percentage.

For the record, that’s actually about average when compared to past Hawai’i teams. Those legendary “Fabulous Five” teams? They had a two-year free throw percentage of .668.

The record-low for a Hawai’i team’s free throw percentage is .581 set in the 1985-86 season, so this year’s Warriors are not even close to that. However, it seems that many of the misses this season have come in crucial moments of losses.

Enter the hidden star of this episode — Nicholas Milan, an administrative assistant on the Hawai’i staff. He recently converted 115 consecutive free throws by himself in one of the UH practice gyms. Knowing that nobody on the team would believe him, Milan recorded his free throw session on video (see below).

Could Milan become a late-season free-throw coach for the Warriors? Or is it too late in the season to alter something like free throw shooting?

Milan, who played basketball at Kaimuki High and Orange Coast College, attends every practice, although technically not in a coaching role. He also accompanies the team on the road trips.

The video above features Rozitis asking teammates about Milan’s free throw “record.” (Garrett Jefferson’s reaction is priceless). The video below is the actual proof of Milan’s 115.

(WarriorInsider.com file photo courtesy Charles Simmons)

On a night when the opponent was so good it scored before the clock even started, the Hawai’i basketball team lost a non-conference game at Montana, 94-79.

A crowd of 5,009 at Dahlberg Arena in Missoula, Montana, watched the Grizzlies go over, around and through Hawai’i’s normally stringent defense from start to finish.

“They lit it up,” Hawai’i head coach Gib Arnold said of the Grizzlies. “Guys that normally don’t even hit shots were knocking down 3s at the end of the shot clock. They were really, really playing well together – 23 assists, that’s quite a night for them. They’re good. They’re better than us, I’ll tell you that.”

The Warriors dropped to 15-11 with the non-conference road loss. Montana improved to 20-6 with its ninth consecutive victory.

The 94 points was the most allowed by Hawai’i this season, and Montana’s Kareem Jamar finished with a triple-double – 21 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.

Vander Joaquim led the Warriors with 17 points and 10 rebounds for his 10th double-double of the season, but it was hardly enough against a Montana offense that shot 57.9 percent from the field, including 11 of 23 (47.8 percent) from 3-point range. Prior to this game, no opposing team had shot better than 50 percent from the field against the Warriors this season.

“They had five guys out there knocking down 3s,” Arnold said. “It’s really hard to come back from that when you give up 11 3s. And on the other end, we couldn’t hit free throws. We were getting to the hole … I thought we were doing a good job of driving it, but it wasn’t paying off.”

Shaquille Stokes scored 13 – including 3-of-6 shooting from 3-point range – and Hauns Brereton added 12 for the Warriors.

Joston Thomas finished with 11 points and five rebounds, before fouling out with 2:55 remaining. He was sent to the locker room after the hard foul, although a technical foul was not assessed.

There was a technical foul called on the Warriors before the game for dunking during warm-ups. Montana’s Will Cherry made one of two free throws to give the Grizzlies a 1-0 lead before the game started.

Hawai’i shot 49.1 percent from the field, but went just 19 of 34 (55.9 percent) from the free throw line.

“They were hitting shots and we weren’t,” Arnold said. “Sometimes that happens.”

Montana head coach Wayne Tinkle said: “It wasn’t a work of art because that’s an awfully talented team. It didn’t feel like we defended great at times, but overall, start to finish, one heck of an effort from our guys.”

The score was tied at 9, then the Grizzlies went on a 7-0 run to take a 16-9 lead they would not relinquish the rest of the way.

Montana led by as many as 14 points several times in the first half, and eventually took a 47-34 lead at intermission. Hawai’i got as close as 53-44 on a dunk by Joaquim with 16:49 remaining, but Montana responded with a 9-2 surge to push the lead up to 62-46 with 15:06 left. The Warriors did not get closer than 11 points the rest of the way.

“(Hawaii) did a great job of getting the ball to the rim and getting to the free throw line in the second half,” Montana coach Tinkle said. “But our guys didn’t wilt.”

Will Cherry scored a game-high 24 points on 10-of-13 shooting for the Grizzlies. Jamar, who completed his triple-double with a pair of assists late in the game – said “it was definitely a team effort.”

“They’re a good team, one of the top teams we played,” Jamar said of the Warriors. “That’s why we came out and played hard because we knew we couldn’t take them lightly.”

Trevor Wiseman contributed nine points and four rebounds, and Zane Johnson finished with eight points and four rebounds for Hawai’i.

The Warriors will stay on the road for another week for two Western Athletic Conference games – at New Mexico State on Thursday, then at Louisiana Tech on Saturday.

“We’ll go back and look at things we didn’t do well tonight and hopefully it will prepare us for New Mexico State,” Arnold said.

(WarriorInsider.com file photos courtesy Charles Simmons)

Missoula, Montana, is not exactly the greatest tourist destination at this time of the year, but the Hawai’i basketball team is still there in search of a priceless souvenir it can bring back home – a win.

The Warriors will play a non-conference road game at Montana on Saturday (4 p.m. Hawai’i time) at the Dahlberg Arena in Missoula.

“Obviously not the greatest situation in terms of travel and being in the middle of (Western Athletic Conference),” Hawai’i head coach Gib Arnold said. “But it’s a game, it’s on our schedule, and we want to go out and win it. Any win you can get is big, and this one is on the road against a very, very good team in Montana.”

Indeed, the Grizzlies are one of the leading candidates to represent the Big Sky Conference in the NCAA Tournament, as they are 19-6 overall and a half-game out of first place in the Big Sky at 12-1. They are on an eight-game winning streak (all against Big Sky opponents), and have won 14 of their last 15.

“As good a team as we’ve played all year,” Arnold said of the Grizzlies. “They’re sitting 12-1 and going to probably win that Big Sky Conference and everybody is saying going to be a NCAA Tournament team.”

Hawai’i is 15-10 overall, including 4-4 in road games. Like Arnold, Montana head coach Wayne Tinkle does not like the timing of the game.

“It’s different – we’re in the middle of a conference championship race and here we are jumping out of conference,” Tinkle said. “Obviously we want to play well we want to keep the momentum going … it’s a home game, it’s a game on our schedule and obviously we want to win it.”

In addition to playing at home, the Grizzlies have also had the advantage of rest. The Warriors won a home game against New Orleans on Tuesday, then departed for Missoula on Thursday night. Meanwhile, the Grizzlies’ last game was on Saturday, so they have had a week at home to prepare for the Warriors.

“I know they’re big, they’re really good on the front line and they have some shooters,” Tinkle said of Hawai’i. “I think they’re an offensive-minded team and we’re a defensive-minded team.”

Like the Warriors, the Grizzlies have decent size and balanced scoring. Montana’s top scorer is Will Cherry, a 6-foot-1 junior guard who is averaging 15.8 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. However, he is not the only threat.

Kareem Jamar, a 6-5 sophomore, is averaging 13.0 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. In the post, the Grizzlies have two options – 7-foot senior Derek Selvig is averaging 9.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, and 6-7 junior Mathias Ward is contributing 10.0 points and 3.9 rebounds per game.

“We know that they got some athletic guards and they have a (center) who can pick-and-pop and shoot 3s,” Hawai’i point guard Miah Ostrowski said. “Our help D has to be there … we have to be real vocal. Defensively, if we handle our business, we’ll be fine.”

Hawai’i junior center Vander Joaquim recently took over the scoring lead for the Warriors. He is now averaging team-highs of 14.8 points and 9.9 rebounds per game.

Senior guard Zane Johnson is averaging 14.6 points per game and leads the team with 71 3-pointers. Junior forward Joston Thomas is contributing 14.1 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. Junior Hauns Brereton is averaging 13.0 points over his last six games. Ostrowski is averaging 6.6 assists per game.

The Grizzlies are 10-2 at home this season, and are drawing an average of 3,091 fans per home game. WAC leader Nevada defeated the Grizzlies in Montana, 70-64, on December 10.

HAWAI’I VS. MONTANA
When: Saturday, February 18, 4 p.m. (Hawaii time)
Where: Dahlberg Arena, Missoula, Montana
TV: None
Radio: Live on ESPN 1420 AM
Internet: Live video streaming available at www.gogriz.com (pay per view)

(WarriorInsider.com photos by Brandon Flores)

There are road trips and then there are road stays. The Hawai’i basketball team will be doing more of the latter over the next week-and-a-half.

The Warriors departed Honolulu on Thursday night for a 10-day, three-game road trip that will take them to three remote cities, stretching as far north as Missoula, Montana, and then as far south as Ruston, Louisiana.

Hawai’i will play a non-conference game at Montana this Saturday, followed by Western Athletic Conference games at New Mexico State on Thursday, February 23, and at Louisiana Tech on Saturday, February 25.

All told, the Warriors will accumulate 10,439 air miles spread over eight separate flights on the trip.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Hawai’i head coach Gib Arnold said. “We’re going to some interesting places. Missoula is a long ways away, but it’s a different part of the world and I heard it was 28 degrees there yesterday, so I told the guys to pack their warmest sweatshirts they got. I think it’s going to be fun.”

As if the travel itself weren’t difficult enough, the Warriors will face three difficult opponents on the trip. Montana is on an eight-game winning streak and is 19-6 overall and tied for first place in the Big Sky Conference at 12-1.

New Mexico State is 19-8 overall and in second place in the WAC at 7-3; LaTech is just 3-7 in the WAC, but one of those wins came at Hawai’i.

The Warriors are 15-10 overall and in fourth place in the WAC at 6-4.

“You just take it one game at a time – win one, then another, then another, and the trip will go by real fast,” senior point guard Miah Ostrowski said. “You can’t think about how long you’re going to be up there, you just have to focus on what’s ahead for that game.”

The last time a Hawai’i team embarked on such a lengthy road journey was in 2003, when the Warriors played a BracketBusters game at Kent State, followed by conference road games at Tulsa and Rice. Hawaii went 1-2 on that trip, defeating Kent State, then losing at Tulsa and Rice.

After the game at Montana this Saturday, the Warriors will travel to El Paso, Texas, on Sunday, and stay there until the New Mexico State game. UTEP head coach Tim Floyd is a close friend of Arnold’s (they coached together at USC several years ago), and invited the Warriors to use the UTEP facilities in the days leading to the New Mexico State game.

“We’re going to kind of have a mini-training camp there, I guess,” Arnold said. “We’re going to use their academic facilities there as well and kind of keep it as a home away from home.”

The only “off day” the Warriors have scheduled for the trip is this Sunday, the day after the Montana game. They are scheduled to depart Missoula at 5 p.m. on Sunday, so Arnold said they might try to find something to do earlier in the day.

“I don’t know, maybe we’ll do some sledding or something, who knows?” Arnold said.

(WarriorInsider.com photos by Charles Simmons)

Hawai’i basketball head coach Gib Arnold said he remembers the advice UCLA coach Ben Howland offered him almost two years ago.

“He said make all your decisions based upon your third year, versus your first year,” Arnold said. “That was really hard for me because I’m the type of guy that I want it now. But we made some decisions in that first year recruiting class and even this second recruiting class, where let’s think more toward the future, versus going to get a guy right now who can help us win a couple games. We’ll find that freshman that can help win the last three games of the year, or maybe two years down the road. Go develop that guy that three years from now, four years from now … is really going to play for Hawaii and help you cut down nets and win championships.”

Arnold shared that story – and many others – as the featured speaker at the Downtown Athletic Club’s monthly luncheon meeting on Wednesday at the Hukilau Honolulu restaurant.

The primary focus of Arnold’s speech was the future of the Hawai’i basketball program. He discussed some of the players who are redshirting this season who will help the team in the future, including Brandon Jawato, Christian Standhardinger, Jace Tavita and Orel Lev.

He also talked about some the signed recruits who are scheduled to join the team next season, including Caleb Dressler and Isaac Fotu.

Arnold drew laughs from the audience when he shared the recruiting process of Fotu, who is from New Zealand and is of Tongan descent. He explained how he and assistant coach Brandyn Akana found some Tongan relatives of Fotu living in Kalihi and how they all came to the airport when Fotu arrived for his recruiting visit in Honolulu.

“Once we got the Tongans involved, it was done,” Arnold said. “The kid came over and we had 40 people waiting for him at the airport. We had the music going, we had a barbecue … it was done.”

(WarriorInsider.com photo by Brandon Flores)

An unimposing New Orleans team tried to steal the University of Hawai’i men’s basketball squad’s heart Tuesday night, but the Warriors refused to fall and pulled away for an 82-58 non-conference victory at the Stan Sheriff Center.

A Valentine’s Night crowd of 5,355 watched Vander Joaquim score 19 points, grab nine rebounds and block four shots and Joston Thomas add 16 points as UH improved to 15-10, while the NCAA Division II-bound Privateers fell to 15-12.

“Interesting game for us, taking a break from the (Western Athletic Conference) against a team I thought we should beat,” Warriors coach Gib Arnold said. “I didn’t want to take them lightly, and I don’t think that we did. It’s not an easy game to play, and I understand that.”

UH jumped out to leads of 15-2 and 24-4 lead in the first eight minutes, only to see New Orleans claw back and close it to 30-25 after Antonio Wertz’s two free throws with 5:30 remaining in the half. The Privateers continued to hang close and trailed 39-30 at the break.

“They did a good job driving and using on-ball screens, and they hit a couple tough shots,” said Warriors point guard Miah Ostrowski, who had seven of his game-high 10 assists in the first half.

Much of the comeback — which included a 16-2 run highlighted by Brandon Canady’s four-point play — came against Hawai’i's second unit after the midway point of the first half.

Joaquim hit two free throws to push the lead to 45-34 three minutes into the second half, but Canady answered with a 3-pointer and then a three-point play to close it to 45-40 with 15:50 left. Joaquim then converted an alley-oop pass from Ostrowski to start a 9-0 run capped by Trevor Wiseman’s layup that made it 54-40 with 12:51 remaining, and the Privateers could not get closer than 12 points the rest of the way.

Hawai’i eventually built the lead to 75-50 on a Shaquille Stokes free throw at the four-minute mark. Stokes, a freshman guard, contributed 11 points and three assists off the bench, including nine points in the second half.

“I was pleased to see Shaq back out there, having fun,” Arnold said. “I told him he’s gonna be in games when it counts, and he’ll be in at the buzzer. He’s an extremely important part of our future.”

Ostrowski said the entire Warriors bench will be important in the immediate future, which includes a “BracketBusters” game at Montana on Saturday, followed by WAC games at New Mexico State and Louisiana Tech next week.

“We’ve got three straight games on the road, so we’ll need as many guys as possible,” Ostrowski said. “The second- and third-string guys got minutes tonight and a lot of guys are more confident now, so that was good to see, because we’re gonna need everyone.”

Arnold said the BracketBusters game Saturday represents an important challenge.

“As for Montana, we’re gonna address it like a WAC game,” Arnold said. “It’s a real good game for us. It doesn’t count in the (WAC standings), but it counts as far as who we are. They’re a very good team with three straight 20-win seasons and one of the highest winning percentages in the country at home. It’s a tough place to play, they have great fans and the place will be rocking, but we’re gonna go up there and battle.”

Canady led New Orleans with 16 points and Brandon Knight added 15 points.

All 12 Hawai’i players in uniform saw action, which added some excitement for the fans who stayed for the final two minutes. Freshman walk-on Tyler Brown scored the first point of his collegiate career after converting one of two free throws.

Sophomore Garrett Jefferson then ended the game with a highlight-reel dunk (see photo sequence below) off an assist from walk-on Pi’i Minns.

(WarriorInsider.com photos by Brandon Flores)

Vander Joaquim scored 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds and Joston Thomas added 16 points tonight as Hawai’i pulled away from New Orleans, 82-58, in non-conference men’s basketball action.

The Warriors improved to 15-10 with the victory, while the Privateers fell to 15-12.

Freshman guard Shaquille Stokes contributed 11 points off the bench, and Miah Ostrowski finished with 10 assists.

UH jumped out to a 24-4 lead in the first eight minutes, only to see New Orleans claw back and close it to 30-25 after Antonio Wertz’s two free throws with 5:30 remaining in the half. The Warriors took a 39-30 lead into the locker room, but the Privateers closed it to 45-40 on Brandon Canady’s three-point play four minutes into the second half.

Joaquim then scored on an alley-oop pass from Ostrowski to start a 9-0 run capped by Trevor Wiseman’s layup that made it 54-40 with 12:51 left, and Hawai’i eventually built the lead to 75-50 on a Stokes free throw at the four-minute mark.

Canady led New Orleans with 16 points and Brandon Knight added 15 points.

The Warriors’ next three games will be on the road, starting with a non-conference game at Montana on Saturday.

(WarriorInsider.com photo by Brandon Flores)

On Valentine’s Day, the Hawai’i basketball team will play the equivalent of a blind date.

The Warriors will host New Orleans in a non-conference game at the Stan Sheriff Center on Tuesday night. Little is known about the Privateers, and even their status as a NCAA Division I program is confusing.

For the record, New Orleans is currently classified as a “NCAA Division I Independent Transitioning to NCAA Division II.” The Privateers have a 15-11 record, although that schedule has included just seven other NCAA Division I opponents (they are 1-6 against previous NCAA-I opponents this season).

The Warriors are 14-10, and have won three of their last four games.

“We were going to go a full week without playing and we wanted to keep the momentum going, so we decided to try to fit another game in there,” Hawai’i head coach Gib Arnold said. “Most of the WAC teams doing the same thing this week.”

Because the Warriors have been focused on their Western Athletic Conference opponents, they had only one day to prepare for New Orleans.

“They are hard to scout – they’ve played seven Division I teams and they’re 1-6 against Division I teams; they’ve played nine NAIA teams and they’re 6-3 against the NAIA teams,” said Hawai’i assistant coach Scott Fisher, who scouted the Privateers. “Twelve different players have been starters in a game, and they’re all about the same size … so it’s going to be a challenge in some ways.”

This much is known – the Warriors will be the bigger team. Much bigger.

The Privateers normally start three guards – all 6 feet 2 or shorter – alongside 6-7 forward Antonio Wertz and 6-6 forward Lovell Cook. Every other New Orleans player is 6-6 or shorter.

In contrast, the Warriors normally start four players 6-6 and taller (Zane Johnson, Hauns Brereton, Joston Thomas and Vander Joaquim). They also have 7-foot Davis Rozitis and 6-7 Trevor Wiseman available in reserve.

“We need to keep going inside – inside, inside, inside,” Fisher said. “This team is so small that we can really hurt them on the inside.”

Cook leads New Orleans in scoring with 14.3 points per game, while Wertz is contributing 11.0 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. However, the key player for the Privateers is 6-foot point guard Brandon Knight, who is averaging 5.4 points and 4.8 assists per game. Knight has amassed 125 assists this season while committing just 34 turnovers.

By comparison, Hawai’i point guard Miah Ostrowski has 108 assists against 41 turnovers.

“I think he’s the best assist-to-turnover ratio in the nation, so it’s going to be a good one,” Ostrowski said.

The Warriors have three players averaging double-figure points: Johnson at 14.9, Joaquim at 14.7, and Thomas at 14.0. Brereton is averaging 13.8 points per game over his last five games, and is not up to 7.8 per game for the season.

HAWAI’I VS. NEW ORLEANS

When: Tuesday, February 14, 7:05 p.m.
Where: Stan Sheriff Center, Honolulu
Tickets: $26 lower level, $18 upper level adults, $16 upper level senior citizens, $5 upper level students. Parking is $6.
TV: Live on OCSports (channel 12 or 1012)
Radio: Live on ESPN 1420 AM
Internet: Live streaming video available at www.ocsports.tv
500 carnations: The first 500 female fans to enter the arena will receive a Valentine’s Day carnation from Watanabe Floral. Also, Bud Light will award a two-night stay in Waikiki at halftime of the game.

(WarriorInsider.com photos by Brandon Flores)