It goes down as a loss in the record book, but the last 10 minutes of Hawaii’s 81-78 defeat at the hands of Northern Colorado on Thursday could pay off later in the season for the Rainbow Warriors.
UH (1-1) trailed by 26 points two minutes into the second half, but rallied furiously down the stretch and were within a point at 78-77 following two free throws by Jovon McClanahan with four seconds left.
But the visiting Bears (2-0) held on in front of 1,047 fans at SimpliFi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Jerome Desrosiers led Hawaii with 15 points and Bernardo da Silva, Noel Coleman and Kamaka Hepa with 14 each all figured in the rally that came up just short.
Coach Eran Ganot and players said the rally should help them as the season progresses.
“Once you saw the look of that group they had a fighting, believing mentality,” Ganot said. “We went to something different with the three bigs together, we threw in some zone. We just wanted to compete and scrap. I really appreciate them. I think early in the year we’ve had some adversity (including two key players out with injury). It starts with an approach and that group was locked in.”
It looked like UH might have a chance to shoot free throws trailing 80-78 with 3.3 seconds left when a scramble for the ball between Desrosiers and a Bears player ended with the ball going out of bounds. After a review, it was determined by the officials it had last touched Desrosiers’ leg.
“I just wanted the ball so much and fell, and didn’t see it after that,” Desrosiers said. “I thought maybe it would be a foul, and I was ready to shoot free throws.”
After that, Dillon Knecht hit the second of two free throws for Northern Colorado with one second left to ice it.
The Bears were bad news for Hawaii for most of the game.
Dru Kuxhausen scored 15 of his game-high 21 points in the first half after which UNC led 39-23.
Kuxhausen hit four of six 3-point attempts, plus three free throws when he was fouled on another try from beyond the arc, all before intermission.
Daylen Kountz also scored 21 for the Bears.
On the other end of the court, the Rainbow Warriors went scoreless for nearly seven minutes of the first half while Northern Colorado scored 13 points. That was the start of an 18-2 run giving the visitors a 34-18 lead.
Bodie Hume picked up the slack after the break, with 14 of his 16 points, including eight at the outset of the second half. Northern Colorado scored the last five before intermission to enjoy a halftime-spanning 15-0 run.
“They’re a very experienced team,” Ganot said, “a separator at the beginning of the year.”
But the Rainbows did not give up despite trailing 49-23, and the Bears, who shot 15-for-33 on 3-pointers for the game, cooled off while the ‘Bows heated up.
“It was more a mind-set than anything,” said Desrosiers, who also led UH with 11 rebounds. “The second-half spark, we should use that as fuel for the next few games.”
Said Hepa: “First, it shows the spirit we have collectively. I don’t think we came out with that spirit, but this shows what we’re capable of. Continuing to build on it, I think that’s what this season is about.”
Pacific beat Hawaii Hilo 85-74 in Thursday’s first game. Luke Avdalovic led the Tigers with 17 points, while the Vulcans’ Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones was game-high with 21.
Pacific, which plays UH in Saturday’s final game of the round-robin Outrigger Rainbow Classic, improved to 1-1 while Hilo fell to 0-2. The Vulcans play the Bears on Saturday.
