In a comeback that was more gritty than pretty, the Hawaii basketball team rallied for a 67-63 victory over Texas-El Paso in Sunday night’s opening round of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic.
A Stan Sheriff Center crowd of 4,292 saw the Rainbow Warriors reach the eight-team tournament’s semifinals for the first time since 2015.
The ’Bows overcame their erratic free-throw shooting and UTEP’s prolific Bryson Williams to improve to 8-3. The Miners, playing their fourth game in seven days, fell to 8-3.
Williams, a 6-foot-8 post, is the focus of UTEP coach Rodney Terry’s up-tempo offense. Terry, who recruited future NBA All-Stars Kevin Durant and LaMarcus Aldridge to Texas a decade ago, has unleashed Williams into a scorer from three different levels. Williams scored 33 points against an assembly line of defenders, including three 3-pointers.
But with 1:29 remaining and the scored tied at 60, UH acting head coach Chris Gerlufsen decided to run a play at Williams. Bernardo da Silva, a 6-foot-9 freshman with a 7-2 wingspan, received a clear-out pass in front of Williams. Da Silva backed his way into the low post, then pirouetted for a layup.
“Coach went for me,” da Silva said, “I made a play, really.”
>> Photo Gallery: Hawaii men’s basketball vs. UTEP
Da Silva hit eight of nine shots, including two thunderous dunks, and finished with a season-high 17 points.
“Bernardo grew up a lot tonight,” Gerlufsen said. “He had it going. And he wasn’t scared. Going into the game, we talked about Bryson Williams, as good an offensive player he is, he has a tendency to maybe take some plays off on the defensive end and try to stay out of foul trouble. Just thought at that time of the game, they weren’t going to be ready for Bernardo to take the shot. He did a heck of a job getting to 2 feet, and just making a veteran play. That was a huge play that led to a win.”
But the drama was not over. After UTEP’s Souley Boum missed an awkwardly launched 3, UH’s Eddie Stansberry rebounded. The ’Bows eventually worked the ball to point guard Drew Buggs. With the shot clock down to its final four ticks, Buggs drove the baseline from the right, weaved between two defenders, double-clutched, and hit a layup for a 64-60 lead with 37.8 seconds to play.
With 22 seconds left, Williams swished a 3 from the top of the key.
But Buggs was fouled a tenth of a second later. Buggs, who had missed his previous two free throws, was true this time. His two free throws extended the lead to 66-63.
Soon after, Boums crashed into Buggs on a drive. Boums was called for the offensive foul. Buggs was fouled on the ensuing possession and hit one of two free throws to seal the outcome.
Buggs scored five of his nine points in the final 40 seconds.
“In all the crunch time, Buggs finds a way to get into the play that winds up helping you win the game,” Gerlufsen said. “He’s incredibly clutch. He kept our team in the game with just his talk on the bench when it came to timeouts. We could have easily folded at a lot of points in the game. He held the group together. He’s our rock. Him and Zigmars (Raimo) are our rocks, for sure.”
Wing player Samuta Avea also provided a spark, scoring all the points in a 7-0 run that helped the ’Bows surge from a deficit. Avea finished with 16 points. Raimo, who helped guard Williams, had nine points, six assists and five steals. Those efforts helped pick up for the sharpshooting Stansberry’s pedestrian night (seven points) and the ’Bows’ 12-for-25 free-throw shooting.
“That’s the kind of the mentality of our group right now,” Gerlufsen said. “It wasn’t the prettiest thing in the world. But we kept plugging, plugging, plugging, and eventually we found our stride. Different guys stepped up at different points of the game, and we gutted out a win.”
