HONOLULU — The University of Hawaii men’s basketball team got off to a hot start and never looked back in a 92-73 win over Niagara Thursday night at SimpliFi Arena. The Rainbow Warriors shot 60 for the field and led by double-digits for the vast majority of the game in the first-ever meeting between the teams.
Noel Coleman led UH with a game-high 21 points to lead four Rainbow Warriors in double-digits. The senior guard scored 15 of those points in the first half when he shot 5-of-7 from the floor while draining a trio of three-pointers.
JoVon McClanahan and Bernardo da Silva each scored 14 points, while Justin McKoy turned in a double-double as a Rainbow Warrior with 12 points and 11 rebounds. In all, 10 different ‘Bows got in the scoring column.
Niagara got on the board first 30 seconds into the game, but UH responded with 14 unanswered points to take a quick double-digit lead. UH expanded its lead to 20-4 less than eight minutes into the game, getting it done on both ends of the court. UH held the Purple Eagles scoreless for nearly six minutes while draining 8-of-11 shots out of the gate. UH shot 65 percent in the first half, while making six of its first seven three-point attempts, to take a 48-38 lead into the locker room.
The Purple Eagles (0-3) cut the deficit to eight points early in the second half, but the single-digit deficit was short-lived. UH scored 12 of the next 17 points to double its lead and eventually went up by as many as 24 points in cruising to its second straight double-digit win to start the season.
The ‘Bows went 9-of-18 from behind the arc, drained 21-of-28 free throws and out-rebounded Niagara 36-24.
The Rainbow Warriors will wrap up its season-opening three-game home stand on Tuesday, Nov. 21 when it takes on Northern Arizona. Due to the preceding Maui Invitational games, the game will have an 8:30 p.m. tipoff time.
#HawaiiMBB
Leave A Comment