Tests looming

A comeback win over Chaminade on Kauai on Saturday sustained a strong start to the season for the Hawaii basketball team.

Extending a five-game winning streak through the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic, starting Sunday against Boise State, will be another challenge entirely.

UH (7-2) returned home from the Garden Isle through stormy weather on Sunday after vanquishing its second Division II opponent of the season, 94-84, behind a career-high-tying 31 points from forward Christian Standhardinger.

While the Rainbow Warriors have played well — they’re up to 12th nationally in scoring at 86.4 points per game — they haven’t been tested as consistently as they will be in their next three games at the Stan Sheriff Center.

The combined record of the five Division I opponents UH has defeated is 13-29. The aggregate record of the other seven Diamond Head Classic teams is 39-13.

It will be a challenge immediately. Besides Boise State (8-2), Saint Mary’s (8-0) resides on UH’s side of the eight-team bracket, while No. 17 Iowa State (8-0), the highest-scoring team in the country, will be considered the favorite to take the tournament.

UH coach Gib Arnold feels good about how his team is playing in its revamped, up-and-down offensive style going into the holiday tournament — though Chaminade’s 1-2-2 zone defense caused problems early in Saturday’s game as the ‘Swords took a 15-point lead. And defensively (71.3 ppg allowed), Arnold acknowledged, "I think we still got a lot of work to do."

"We don’t have any major, major gaps," he said. "There’s nothing we can’t fix. As Isaac Fotu (fractured right hand) gets a little more healthy, I think that helps us. And I think the guys coming off the bench, Quincy (Smith) and Davis (Rozitis), have been really good. I like how they’re coming.

Arnold has narrowed his rotation somewhat in recent games — minutes have been scarcer for freshmen Aaron Valdes and Mike Thomas.

"I still think Valdes and Mike Thomas have a lot of minutes for us this year," Arnold said. "I was hoping to get them more minutes (against Chaminade), but it didn’t work out. Hopefully we get them playing a little bit more in the next five games heading into conference."

Record-wise, UH leads Big West Conference teams. UC Santa Barbara (5-3) and UC Irvine (6-5) are currently the only other Big West teams with a winning record.

While each member of the UH starting five is averaging double-figure scoring, Standhardinger has been the biggest reason for success with an 18.4 points-per-game average.

Standhardinger went 16-for-22 at the free-throw line against Chaminade. Those numbers for makes and misses were second in UH history only to Chris Gaines’ 19 foul-line makes against Texas A&M in 1989 and Harvey Lee’s 24 attempts against Santa Clara in 1954.

UH improved to 5-0 in neighbor-island games in the past four seasons. Both Arnold and Chaminade coach Eric Bovaird spoke of extending the series outside of Oahu in coming seasons.

"We’re going to keep doing this. This is fun," Arnold said.

Lanai is the only island with a suitable basketball venue where UH has not yet played a game, though Arnold said the rubber flooring at Lanai High School’s gym is not currently up to NCAA standards.

UH and Chaminade played to sellout crowds on Molokai and Kauai the past two seasons.

"The fans love it," Bovaird said. "I’m just thankful they appreciate it. I had numerous ones come up to me and say ‘Thanks so much for coming over.’ When people appreciate stuff like that it makes you want to keep doing it. A great experience for everybody."