After going zip-for-two on the recent road trip, the Hawaii basketball team has not Ziplocked an advantage for this week’s homestand.
The Rainbow Warriors face pebble-in-their-shoe nemesis Long Beach State tonight and Big West leader UC Irvine on Saturday in the Stan Sheriff Center.
“The mind-set is we have to respond,” said point guard Drew Buggs, whose ’Bows are second in the league at 5-3 — 11⁄2 games behind Irvine. “We can’t change what happened the past week. We wanted to come away 2-0, but that’s how it is on the road. … We know last week doesn’t define us. We still have a chance to turn it around and play for first place if we handle our business this week.”
While the ’Bows (14-8 overall) fell at UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly, the Beach (7-17, 2-6 BWC) rested. “It’s a uniquely quick turnaround because of the Saturday from the road to Wednesday against a team that’s had a bye,” UH coach Eran Ganot said. “But, I mean, let’s go. We’ve got to be ready to go.”
Because of injuries and circumstances, the ’Bows have been short-handed for most of the season. Two ailing starters — wing Samuta Avea and post Bernardo da Silva — have missed the past four and five games, respectively. Whether either plays tonight, Ganot’s focus is on the available core.
“That is 100% the mentality that we have enough,” Ganot said. “The alternative is not a good place to be mentally. We lost two or three guys before the year started, and we lost two guys recently. We’ve played eight conference games, only one of which we’ve had a full roster. But no one is feeling sorry for us. We have to keep finding ways.”
Freshman Justin Webster is part of the new three-guard attack. Justin Hemsley has provided a spark as a three and four. Against Cal Poly, 7-foot post Dawson Carper had 20 points and 11 rebounds, and hit eight of 10 free throws.
“Some guys have been thrown in fires and have found levels of success,” Ganot said. “We need everybody. You shift gears quickly to reality and the confidence we can get it done with this group. We’ll be ready when (Avea and da Silva) come back. They’re doing everything they can. They’re 100% doing their rehab. And we have to step up in their absence. We’re coming off a tough stretch. We have to worry about what we can control. We have to embrace the adversity of the moment.”
The Beach hit a buzzer-beater to oust the ’Bows from the 2019 Big West tournament. Since then, the Beach turned over the roster, with 11 players making their debut this season. One of the newcomers is 6-foot-11 Joshua Morgan, who has swatted 57 shots and leads the Big West with 2.3 blocks per game.
“He’s got really good timing,” Beach coach Dan Monson said. “He’s really long. He’s just a freshman. He’ll get better as he gets stronger. Right now, he’s been able to disrupt (shots) a little bit. He’s been able to give us a presence protecting the rim. When we’ve had a good defensive game, he’s led it.”
With Morgan and 6-9 Romelle Mansel in the low post, the Beach are free to attack with a mix-and-match trio of guards and wings.
“They have three guards who can really score the ball,” said Jabari Trotter, UH’s scouting analyst for this game. “They’re really aggressive from 3. They’ll try to attack you in iso situations. They’re long. They’re athletic. They’re dangerous, for sure.”
Monson said there have been bright moments, particularly in victories over UC Santa Barbara and Irvine. But Monson said the Beach need to be more consistent and find a way to disrupt UH’s Buggs-led attack.
“Buggs is doing such a great job at point guard getting a lot of guys in the flow,” Monson said. “Offensively, they’ve been in a really good rhythm. I don’t think we can come in and outscore them. I think we have to see if we can get them out of sync for a while.”
BIG WEST BASKETBALL
At Stan Sheriff Center
>> Who: Long Beach State vs. Hawaii
>> When: Today, 7 p.m.
>> TV: Spectrum Sports
>> Radio: KKEA, 1420-AM / 92.7 FM
