Rainbows gut out win over Marist

FORT MYERS, Fla. >> Seeing their big lead dwindle to one with fatigue setting in again, Hawaii’s men’s basketball team recovered and rebounded for a needed victory in the Gulf Coast Showcase on Tuesday.

The Rainbow Warriors held off Marist 62-55 in the consolation semifinals at Germain Arena.

Guard Garrett Nevels had a season-high 18 points, while forward Aaron Valdes added a career-high 16 rebounds to go with 10 points.

Hawaii (5-2) will play East Carolina (3-2) at 9:30 a.m. Hawaii time for fifth place.

East Carolina beat Fresno State 58-52.

"We’ll take any win we can get right now," Hawaii coach Benjy Taylor said. "We gutted out today and we have to gut out tomorrow."

Hawaii led by as many as 21 points in the first half, but Marist (0-4) rallied and cut the deficit to 46-45 midway through the second half. However, point guard Roderick Bobbitt got the ‘Bows offense flowing again, which led to a couple of hoops by Negus Webster-Chan as well as a jumper by Valdes during a 9-0 run.

Marist drew within 58-55 with 1:11 left but got no closer.

"Benjy inherited a tough situation," said Marist coach Mike Maker, who like Taylor is a first-year coach at his school. "I’ve known him a long time and he’s done a phenomenal job. His team is very talented."

Today, Marist will play its fourth game in five days, but Maker told his players, "If you’re feeling sorry for yourselves, look at the other locker room. You know what they did? Hawaii flew around the globe, they have played more games and they’ve had some problems.

"Benjy also had to be a new voice after the season started."

Both teams came into the game with challenges. Marist was without its backcourt starters. Leading scorer Khallid Hart and T.J. Curry are out with a broken foot and broken hand, respectively. Maker hopes to get them back in mid-January.

For the Rainbows, the 13-hour flight from Maui to Fort Myers and five-hour time difference altered sleep patterns. Taylor said many of his players had a hard time falling asleep.

"At 3 a.m., it’s 9 or 10 p.m. in Hawaii," Valdes said.

Nevels added, "I haven’t been able to sleep until like 6:30 a.m. Same thing the day before."

But he said he and his teammates had their legs.

It showed early.

Marist’s methodical pace and zone defense contrasted to how San Francisco played and was just what the doctor ordered for Hawaii.

The ‘Bows showed great patience as they passed the ball to the open man. They quickly pushed the lead from 10-4 to 25-7 and led 35-16 before Marist scored the last six points of the first half.

Nevels made four of five shots in the first half, including a pair of 3-pointers, while Valdes made three of four shots. Guards Niko Filipovich and Dyrbe Enos also came off the bench to knock down treys.

"I knew we’d have to play a lot of guys early," Taylor said. "The guys off the bench gave us big minutes."

Taylor said a key to regaining control was slowing down Chavaughn Lewis, who had a game-high 24 points.

"They stopped running their offense and they put the ball in No. 40’s hands," he said. "We were not ready for that. We made a defensive adjustment, which helped."