HONOLULU — The University of Hawaii men’s basketball team continued its hot start to the season with a 78-53 win over Hawaii Pacific Sunday at the SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. The Rainbow Warriors improved to 7-1 on the year while staying unbeaten at home (5-0).
Noel Coleman poured in 14 points and in the process reached a milestone. The senior from Leopoldsburg, Belgium needed 12 points to reach 1,000 for his career and he did so on a three-pointer at the 14:55 mark of the second half. Coleman went 6-of-10 from the floor while adding four rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Meanwhile, Coleman’s backcourt mate Juan Munoz torched the nets for the second straight game with a near carbon copy of first-half performance versus Central Arkansas. Munoz poured in all 15 of his points in the first half on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting, including 3-of-3 from the three-point land.
HPU entered the game with a sizeable frontcourt. But that didn’t stop UH from out-scoring the Sharks, 46-28 in the paint and winning the battle of the boards, 48-36. Bernardo da SIlva registered 14 points, five rebounds and four assists, while Mor Seck chipped in nine points and five rebounds to lead UH’s inside game.
The ‘Bows never trailed in the game, though the Sharks (5-2) hung tough through the first 11 minutes. UH built an early double digit lead, but HPU went on a 12-2 run to knot things up. The score was tied 20-20 with less than nine minutes left in the half, but that’s when UH went on game-turning run. UH scored 12 unanswered points, fueled by eight from Munoz, and the ‘Bows never looked back from there.
UH shot 53 percent from the field, including 57 percent in the first half as UH led by a dozen at the break. The ‘Bows got 39 points from its bench as 10 of 12 players that who saw action got in the scoring column.
The Rainbow Warriors will be in action next on Sunday, Dec. 17 when it takes on 2023 NCAA Tournament squad Nevada. Tipoff is 5:00 p.m. at the SimpliFi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center.
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