Jack Purchase gave himself something not to think about in Saturday’s 18-point victory over Hawaii Hilo.
The Hawaii stretch forward began the process of busting out of a lengthy shooting slump by scoring 10 points with four assists, four rebounds and no turnovers in the 82-64 decision at the Stan Sheriff Center.
He shot just 3-for-8 from the field. Compared to the four previous games, that counted as significant progress; over that span, he’d scored just seven points on a combined 2-for-23.
Purchase, who hit 72 3-pointers a season ago — a record for a UH sophomore — has been open about being bothered by the misses and acknowledged thinking too much.
“People scout me as a shooter,” the Australian said in the Hilo postgame press conference. “When I came into the game, everyone’s yelling ‘shooter, shooter, shooter.’ You’re thinking, ‘Man, I gotta start making these shots because everyone thinks I’m a shooter.’ I just gotta take the pressure off myself, I just gotta get myself more involved with the team. Gotta stop thinking about it. I’ll be all right. Just good to see a couple fall tonight.”
Purchase came into the game shooting a ghastly 6-for-37 on 3-pointers (16.7 percent) for the season, but hit multiple 3s in a game (2-for-5) for the first time since the season opener against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. It helped UH toward a season-best 10 triples, in 25 attempts (40 percent).
His first few shots off the bench did not exactly indicate a return to form. An attempt from the elbow sailed beyond the rim and off the backboard. After converting a layup, he had a layup spiked off the backboard by Denhym Brooke. Then, his first 3 missed everything.
But unlike previous games, he stayed with it. His second 3 of the second half gave UH its largest lead of 30.
“You always have (struggles) at different times with different guys,” UH coach Eran Ganot said. “Noah (Allen) stands out. Two years ago, Quincy (Smith) was really struggling at the free-throw line. It’s what you sign up for, as a player and a coach, especially here. You’ll get a lot of praise and criticism and you gotta continue to fight through (and) do things right.
“But it is one of those places, when you struggle, you can feel it. I mean, Jack hits a 3 and it was like he hit a buzzer-beater.”
Purchase’s rebounding and passing have been a constant, and he factored into the Rainbow Warriors outdoing Hilo handily in both categories. For the season, he’s grabbing 5.8 boards and has 29 assists against six turnovers.
UH (6-2) has only a matchup with Utah Valley (6-4) on Sunday remaining before facing an imposing field in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic. UH opens that against No. 10 Miami on Dec. 22.
