Hawaii junior guard Brandon Spearman doesn’t yet know the extent of his left ankle injury suffered Saturday in a loss at Pacific, but he is optimistic on a return to action by the end of the regular season.
With 1.8 seconds left before halftime, Spearman landed awkwardly trying to block the shot of Tigers guard Lorenzo McCloud and stayed down writhing in pain for several minutes. The team’s third-leading scorer at 9.7 points per game was carried off the court and did not return. He watched in frustration from the end of the bench as UH lost its five-point second-half lead.
Spearman is awaiting results of an MRI done on his ankle upon the team’s return to Honolulu on Sunday. An 0-2 road trip knocked the Rainbow Warriors (15-11, 9-6 Big West) down to third place with three Big West games remaining.
"It was feeling better (Sunday) actually," Spearman said. "I’ve been getting a lot of treatment since the injury. So far so good. Everything is progressing. I just came back from the doctor. I’ll know the results tomorrow (Monday).
"It doesn’t look too bad. … My foot’s swollen right now. But it’s just one of those ankle injuries … kind of a high/mid ankle sprain."
He said his left leg went numb upon landing. He immediately feared it was a knee injury and was relieved that it wasn’t.
UH breaks from league play this week to take on Northern Arizona of the Big Sky in a BracketBusters home game on Saturday.
Spearman all but ruled himself out for that game, which will not affect the team’s standing going into the Big West tournament in Anaheim, Calif., on March 14-16.
"I’m getting around with crutches. I can’t put weight on it," Spearman said. "I don’t think I’m ready for the game on Saturday. I’m probably going to miss that game.
"I want to come back 100 percent. I don’t want to come back half. The Big West tournament is coming up, so I need to come back 100 percent and be ready. We have some big games ahead of us and I want to be ready for that."
Freshman forward Isaac Fotu could return to the starting lineup for any games Spearman misses. UH coach Gib Arnold went to Fotu to start the second half Saturday.
The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Spearman, a transfer from Indian Hills Community College (Iowa), has been one of the team’s few reliable perimeter players. He is second on the team in assists and second in steals while shooting 41.2 percent from the field, 33.3 percent on 3-pointers and 71.8 percent at the free-throw line.
Spearman, of Chicago, started the first seven games of the season, highlighted by a 20-point, nine-rebound effort against his home-state team, Illinois, on Nov. 16.
Until Saturday, UH had generally stayed free of injuries during the regular season. Senior center Vander Joaquim sprained an MCL in the preseason but recovered in time to play in the season opener.
UH coach Gib Arnold stayed on the mainland for some recruiting after Saturday’s loss. On Sunday, he was in Chicago.
