Hawaii basketball forward Stefan Jankovic said during an afternoon shootaround he is eligible to play on Monday night’s game against Nebraska in the first round of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic.

He told a UH spokesman that he’s been cleared by the UH compliance office. UH coach Benjy Taylor affirmed Monday afternoon Jankovic is clear to play for the 8 p.m. game at the Stan Sheriff Center.

On Sunday, Jankovic said his likelihood to play was “99.99 (percent) … as many 9s as you want to put.”

The 6-foot-11 Jankovic, a transfer from Missouri who enrolled at UH in January, is expected to come off the bench in his debut with the Rainbow Warriors. The game is scheduled to tip off at 8, though it could begin later depending on the length of the 6 p.m. game between No. 11 Wichita State and Loyola Marymount. Both games are on ESPNU.

Jankovic averaged 3.1 points and 1.6 rebounds in 28 career games at Mizzou, largely as a reserve.

Monday’s Day 1 winners Colorado and George Washington meet at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday in an ESPNU-televised semifinal. Opening-round losers Ohio and DePaul play in a consolation semifinal at 9:30 a.m., also on ESPNU.

Wichita State awaits the winner of the Nebraska-Hawaii game in the other semifinal at 4 p.m.

HAWAIIAN AIRLINES DIAMOND HEAD CLASSIC DAY 1 RESULTS

Game 1: George Washington 77, Ohio 49

The Colonials of the Atlantic 10 Conference cranked up the defensive pressure in the second half, holding the Bobcats of the Mid-American Conference to 15 points after the break — a Diamond Head Classic record — to advance to Tuesday’s first semifinal.

George Washington (7-3) got 19 points, 15 rebounds and two blocks from Kevin Larsen and 18 points from Kethan Savage. Ohio (3-5) attempted only three free throws and had one double-digit scorer (Ryan Taylor, 13).

“Offensively, we were pretty good the whole game, and rebounding and scoring in the second half,” GW coach Mike Lonergan said. “So it was a good win for us to start this tournament.”

Game 2: Colorado 82, DePaul 68

Point guard Askia Booker tied a career-high with 27 points, had six rebounds and six assists, and set a Diamond Head Classic record for most free-throw makes without a miss (14-for-14) to lead the Buffaloes (7-3). Xavier Johnson added 20 points and seven rebounds.

Booker slid a behind-the-back bounce pass to Wesley Gordon for a dunk and a 55-39 lead on DePaul (6-5) with under 14 minutes to play, and the Buffs held on to hand the Blue Demons their fourth straight defeat.

“We gotta finish stronger than we did; we let a 16-point lead go down to 10. We didn’t play very smart down the stretch in terms of time and score,” CU coach Tad Boyle said. “Those are learning opportunities for us. But I was proud of our resolve, our competitiveness, and guys made plays.”

No. 11 Wichita State 80, Loyola Marymount 53

Fifteen Shockers saw action as the only ranked team in the field jumped out early in both halves and coasted into the semifinals.

The Shockers (9-1) won the rebounding and turnover battles handily, and thus held the Lions (3-7) to just 38 field goals attempted, nine fewer than the previous Diamond Head record for the least shots taken.

Darius Carter and Tekele Cotton led WSU with 12 points apiece on combined 9-for-13 shooting.

“I thought we got 15 guys some valuable playing time,” WSU coach Gregg Marshall said. “We were able to spare our starters, top guys from playing too many minutes. When you play three games in four days, we need them to play well to come out of here with the desired result, which is a championship. One step towards that.”