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The bench made its mark in the University of Hawaii basketball team’s 97-67 victory over Hawaii Hilo in Wednesday night’s season opener.
A small but enthusiastic crowd of 1,302 saw the Rainbow Warriors’ reserves account for 57 points in the first round of the Outrigger Resorts Rainbow Classic in SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
“That should be up there for some record, I would think,” UH coach Eran Ganot said of the bench’s production. “It was a unique game.”
The reserve power extended to the music. With 40 members of the UH band traveling to Las Vegas for the Rainbow Warriors’ football game, several alumni were summoned as replacements.
“Our bench,” UH guard Noel Coleman said, “showed we’re a loaded team. I don’t expect anything less from our bench than what they brought today. They started picking off each other’s energies. I thought that’s how they were supposed to be.”
The ’Bows entered short-handed with this week’s announcement that wing Samuta Avea and point guard Juan Munoz would undergo surgery for season-ending injuries. Both were projected as starters.
But the ’Bows showed their depth when they beckoned the non-starters. Bernard da Silva, who missed all but five games last season because of an injury, established himself in the low post. Da Silva scored 16 points, suctioned 10 rebounds and clogged the Vulcans’ path into the paint.
“The team and the coaching staff really gave me confidence to showcase my talent,” da Silva said. “I’m thankful to be able to play a game, and I’m happy to be here. … I haven’t played in a while. … It was good to be out there and get a couple reps, live reps. A game is different from practice.”
Princeton transfer Jerome Desrosiers contributed 11 points off the bench, including the 3 that sparked a 15-0 run after the Vulcans closed to 52-44 with 13:33 to play. It was Desrosiers’ first regular-season game in two years. The Ivy League did not compete last season because of the pandemic.
Beon Riley, a second-year ’Bow, was effective as two-tier player. He posted up Hilo guards for layups while also extending his offense to the 3-point zone. Riley, who is 6-6 and 220 pounds, showed skill with a back-back-back move from the left corner, then pirouetting to swish a jumper. Riley also soared to swat away Donald McHenry’s layup attempt as the first half came to an end.
And Amoro Lado, a 6-foot-2 transfer from College of Southern Idaho, hit two 3s, ran the point without a turnover, and helped counter the Vulcans’ small-ball attack.
“Lado gave us a lift,” Ganot said. “He has to keep getting reps. He’s new to the program. He’s still getting comfortable. Little breakthroughs will help him. He took care of the ball, he defended in key stretches, and he can really shoot.”
Lado also showed quickness with his dash into the lane for a layup. On a break, he lasered a pass to Zoar Nedd for a basket. Nedd contributed a career-high 10 points.
The ’Bows played active help-out defense in forcing the Vulcans into 0-for-8 shooting to start the game. There was a 5:18 stretch between the Vulcans’ first and second baskets.
But the Vulcans were able to rally several times, in large part to McHenry, a 6-2 freshman. McHenry hit three 3s and finished with a team-high 13 points.
When Hilo whittled what had once been an 18-point deficit to eight, the ’Bows answered. Desrosiers, who can play in the post or the wing, swished the momentum-starting 3.
“When (losing a big lead) happens, do you respond?” Ganot said. “And we responded really well.”
Guard Noel Coleman said: “We had to do it. It kind of hurt our pride a little bit. We knew we had to sit down more on defense. We had to lock in more, and it kind of rolled over onto our offense.”
Coleman scored 15 points. The ’Bows were plus-34 points when Coleman was on the court.
“It wasn’t really me,” he said. “It was us as a team coming out of the slump. Everybody started sharing the ball and getting excited for each other.”
Northern Colorado 67, Pacific 65
Bodie Hume blocked Jeremiah Bryant’s putback attempt with a second left to preserve Northern Colorado’s 67-65 victory over Pacific in the opening round of the Outrigger Resorts Rainbow Classic.
Down 67-64, Pacific had a chance to tie it after UNC’s Matt Johnson’s missed a jumper with 18.9 seconds to play. The Tigers worked for a shot when Alphonso Anderson was fouled just before launching a shot with 3.2 seconds left. The referees ruled it to be a one-and-one.
Anderson made the first free throw, closing the Tigers to 67-65, and then intentionally missed the second. The shot hit the front of the rim and was grabbed by Bryant on the right side. But Hume, a 6-foot-8 guard, rejected Bryant as time expired.
Daylen Kountz’s 22 points led the Bears, who squandered a 16-0 lead.
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