There was no subtlety about this Trojan invasion.
Troy battered down the doors of the Stan Sheriff Center by scoring the game’s first 16 points and Hawaii’s game-long attempt to rally the troops ended in a narrow defeat, 65-63, on Friday night.
After Trojans guard Kevin Baker made the second of two free throws with 4.5 seconds left, UH inbounded to Noah Allen near midcourt. The senior took the ball strong to the left side of the hoop, but his tying attempt off the glass was short and Jack Purchase’s putback attempt right at the horn banked too strong.
“It was a layup and I missed it. It was my fault,” Allen said quietly at the postgame interview table.
A crowd of 3,492, dismayed at the outset, were roused by the comeback only to file out dejectedly as the Rainbow Warriors managed only to tie it up in the second half and never took the lead.
UH’s last look appeared to be a good one, but the ’Bows instead fell to 3-3 heading into Sunday’s matchup against nonconference schedule mainstay Arkansas-Pine Bluff (1-4). Troy (3-3) of the Sun Belt Conference picked up its first road win.
“We just kind of held on there at the end,” Troy coach Phil Cunningham said. “That last play we gave up way too easy a shot. We went for a steal and they beat us down there and basically missed two point-blank shots that would have sent the game into overtime.”
UH shot 32 percent and committed 14 turnovers in the first half to fall behind by as many as 17 points. They chipped it to nine at the break, then tied it twice — at 37, then at 60 with two minutes left.
But it all came back to the awful start. UH committed turnovers on five of its first eight possessions.
“Pretty simple. Give credit to Troy for coming out ready to play,” UH coach Eran Ganot said. “Shame on us for not being ready to play. … It was a straight, punch-you-in-the-mouth, we-respect-the-game-and-you-don’t.”
Purchase ended the early drought with a 3 with 14:29 on the clock. The Auburn transfer finished with a career-high 21 points on 6-for-13 shooting (6-for-11 from 3).
“It doesn’t really mean anything now, but I guess it does help my confidence,” Purchase said. “They jumped on us and we didn’t prepare well at the start of the game.”
Three days after scoring a season-high 24 with six 3-pointers in a 31-point win over Hawaii Hilo, Allen had five turnovers by himself in the first nine minutes before attempting a shot. He finished with 12 points and seven giveaways.
“We don’t want to be playing on our heels, so that’s something that has to change,” he said.
He was far from the only ’Bow to struggle. Starting point guard Sheriff Drammeh shot 1-for-11 with four assists and three turnovers. He gave way to Brocke Stepteau late in the game. Stepteau scored 12 and dished five assists against five turnovers.
“I like his look. His confidence is growing offensively,” Ganot said of Stepteau. “But he knows, we can’t have five turnovers from that position.”
UH took better care of the ball for the first 10 minutes of the second half, allowing a comeback attempt.
Purchase hit back-to-back 3s to get UH within a point, 35-34. Leland Green tied it up at 37 on a trey, his only bucket of the night.
Purchase’s sixth 3 on a set inbounds play brought UH within 58-57 with under four minutes left. Jordon Varnado (14 points) came right back with a layup for Troy.
Allen scored in transition to knot it at 60 with two minutes remaining. Troy again refused to allow UH’s first lead as Alex Hicks got to the line and made two.
Purchase missed a 3 on UH’s next possession coming out of a timeout and Allen was whistled going for the ball on the rebound. DeVon Walker went to the line and made it a four-point game.
Gibson Johnson went 1-for-2 at the line and the ball carried out. UH got the ball back upon officials review and Johnson scored inside on a second effort, drawing UH within 64-63.
Troy’s Wesley Person (14 points) missed a corner 3 at the other end and Varnado was off inside. UH dribbled upcourt and called timeout with 10.2 seconds left.
Allen received the ball on the wing and drove into the lane. He attempted a spin move but lost the ball in traffic.
“We all have faith in Noah,” Purchase said. “Even if he didn’t play as well as he has been playing, we wanted him to keep shooting.”
2017 DHC field announced
The eight-team field of the 2017 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic was announced Friday.
The field is: Akron (Mid-American); Davidson (Atlantic 10); Miami (Atlantic Coast); Middle Tennessee (Conference USA); New Mexico State (Western Athletic); USC (Pac-12); Utah State (Mountain West); and host Hawaii (Big West).
