Hawaii men’s basketball team soars past Eastern Washington

Kamaka Hepa scored 17 point and grabbed nine rebounds to boost the University of Hawaii to a 71-51 victory over Eastern Washington in the second round of the Outrigger Resorts Rainbow Classic.

A Sunday crowd of 2,589 in SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center saw the Rainbow Warriors take a lead they would not relinquish on Hepa’s 3 at 23 seconds after the opening tip-off.

The ’Bows, who improved to 2-0, play 2-0 Yale in Monday night’s final round.

Noel Coleman contributed 15 points and Samuta Avea, who hit back-to-back 3s to start the second half, finished with 10 points. Bernardo da Silva added 14 points and six rebounds.

The ’Bows scored the first nine points, extended the margin to 19-6, weathered an EWU rally, then closed with a 12-4 surge to take a 33-23 lead into the intermission.

Hepa scored 12 first-half points.

The ’Bows’ aggressive defense forced 11 turnovers in the first 20 minutes. The ’Bows turned the ball over three times during that stretch. For the game, Eagles committed 16 turnovers.