‘Bows don’t want to forget what it took to beat Xavier

Joston Thomas made shots from all over the court, yet while playing within Hawaii’s system. Hauns Brereton hit a double-clutch, hanging 3-point shot in the biggest moment of his short UH career. Xavier missed every shot and free throw that could have put the Rainbow Warriors away.

The No. 14 Musketeers went down in fantastical fashion, 84-82, in overtime before a delirious Stan Sheriff Center crowd on Friday.

Did all that really happen? Yes, yes it did.

"It really hasn’t set in for me yet what we did last night," a grinning Brereton said at Saturday’s practice.

UH (6-5) used the day between the second and third rounds of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic to reinforce the positives it unearthed against a talented team.

Coach Gib Arnold wanted to make sure the ‘Bows recalled exactly what they did right.

"We all keep journals when we have team meetings, and I had them … write their thoughts on why we won: a team-first mentality, a defensive mind-set, and we followed the game plan," Arnold said. "We wrote them down so that we could always refer back to it and say ‘OK, we played some of the best ball of the year, this is why.’"

Just about everyone on the Rainbows’ roster contributed in some way against Xavier, something UH will look to replicate today against Clemson (7-5).

Brereton’s shot won’t be forgotten anytime soon, nor will Thomas’ game-winner on a feed from Zane Johnson. Thomas finished with a career-high 24 points on 8-for-11 shooting, Vander Joaquim added a season-high 20 and Johnson stepped up late to finish with 14 and five assists.

Brereton was scoreless in UH’s previous two games — and 4-for-19 on 3s for the season — before going off for 13 points on 6-for-7 shooting on Friday.

Sophomore forward Trevor Wiseman was one of several ‘Bows to make a greater impact on the defensive end. But he also had an emphatic dunk in overtime, his first basket of the game.

"It feels great to beat a ranked team, especially being (at home)," Wiseman said. "Teams (have) been sleeping on us. We’re looking forward to getting another big win over an ACC team."

Clemson returns three starters from its squad that made the NCAA Tournament round of 32 last season, including guards Andre Young (12.8 ppg) and Tanner Smith (10.7). The two have combined for 90 assists against 40 turnovers.

"Mostly just get some rest and try to get a few guys trying to feel good about their games," Tigers coach Brad Brownell said of his Saturday practice strategy. "We’ll certainly walk through some of the offensive schemes that Hawaii does and try to compare a little better for our offense as well."