Rainbow Warriors get a little more adversity to overcome

The Rainbow Warriors basketball team has responded to adversity, be it on or off the court, with aplomb all season.

Adversity is still attempting to get in the last word.

UH finally received a "Notice of Allegations" from the NCAA on Friday in the collegiate governing body’s nearly year-long process looking into the Rainbow Warriors program. Sources told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser it contains charges of multiple Level I and II violations, the most serious of the NCAA’s new four-tiered system. The notice, or details of each alleged violation, had not been made available by UH as of late Friday.

The university has 90 days to respond to the allegations. Meanwhile, the 2014-15 season, roughly two-thirds completed, continues to play out with interim coach Benjy Taylor at the helm.

The Rainbows’ coaching staff and players must deal with a new wave of scrutiny as they take on Big West co-leader Long Beach State in a 2 p.m. Hawaii time game at the Walter Pyramid on Saturday.

Taylor, who did not return a phone message seeking comment Friday night, was said to have been notified of the NCAA allegations Friday, the team’s practice and preparation day for LBSU. Players were not available for comment.

The ‘Bows are coming off an 84-73 win at Cal State Northridge on Thursday, moving them to 7-0 this season coming off a loss.

But washing away the Beach (11-11, 5-1 Big West) in its 4,200-seat Pyramid is difficult enough without major off-court distractions.

UH (15-7, 3-3) will nevertheless try to close the gap with one of the league’s three first-place teams at a place the Rainbow Warriors have yet to notch a win as a Big West member.

The Matadome was another site UH hadn’t before prevailed entering this four-game road trip.

"We’re in it for the long haul," Taylor said in a Friday phone interview conducted prior to the Star-Advertiser’s report about UH’s reception of the allegations.

"We understand we can’t get too high or too low," he said. "That’s only one win, and we still got a lot of work to do."

UH has thus far oscillated between wins and losses like clockwork. It has not yet put together a conference winning streak, nor has it been dealt two consecutive defeats all season.

Changing course in the Pyramid is tough, but not impossible. UH was on the cusp of a victory there last season, but Travis Hammonds buried a 3 with nine seconds left for a 63-61 LBSU decision.

For UH, limiting the damage done by LBSU senior point guard Mike Caffey (18.3 ppg, 3.5 apg) is paramount. Caffey’s talent was on display in a 91-85 Beach win at Cal State Fullerton on Thursday. The two-time All-Big West first-teamer rallied his team from an 11-point deficit with 4:14 to play in regulation. He had 18 of his career-high 34 points in the final four minutes plus overtime.

"We got him the ball and got out of the way," LBSU coach Dan Monson said. "That’s very dangerous, but he willed us to win. You gotta give him credit."

The ‘Bows continue to rank among the nation’s leaders in team steals per game (fourth at 10.2), headed up by point guard Roderick Bobbitt, who is second nationally with three swipes per game.

Monson is bracing for UH’s pressure defense with just a day of preparation time between games. He credited UH with adapting to a frenetic style that fit its personnel with the losses of all-conference players Christian Standhardinger and Isaac Fotu from last season.

"I’m not worried about Mike Caffey handling the pressure, I’m worried about my team handling it," Monson said. "Because the rest of them are not as adept to it. A lot of it gets shouldered on him, and that’s because he’s good at it. If I had four others like him, I think we’d be all right."

LBSU, as is the norm under eighth-year coach Monson, played one of the toughest nonconference schedules in the country. The battle-tested Beach lost six straight at one point — but all on the road, at bastions of basketball like Texas, St. John’s, Syracuse and Louisville.

Since faltering in overtime at UC Davis in the opening week of league play, the 49ers have rattled off four straight wins. Forward David Samuels has been a double-double threat of late and guard Tyler Lamb (9.1 ppg, 36.1 percent shooting) is capable of erupting.

"They got other guys who can score as well (besides Caffey) ," Taylor said. "So, it’ll take a total team effort. We gotta be very locked in defensively and we gotta do a good job of keeping them off the glass."