Vanderbilt’s opening statement was loud and impactful.
The Commodores controlled the tempo and then the Hawaii basketball team for a 68-54 victory in Wednesday’s opening round of the Diamond Head Classic.
An aggregate crowd of 2,632 saw the Commodores force 14 first-half turnovers — six on steals — contain the ’Bows’ offense to a 47-foot-by-50-foot space, and turn loose the son of an NBA legend.
“We can’t hang our heads when we get hit in the mouth,” UH coach Eran Ganot said of bouts of inconsistent shooting and ball control. “We got hit in the mouth today.”
Scotty Pippen Jr. — a 6-foot-3 guard whose father is six-time NBA champion Scottie Pippen — serpentined his way for 21 points.
“I came out aggressive,” said Pippen, who hit six of his first seven shots and made four first-half steals. “I just read the defense, tried to get my teammates involved. I came out in the first half and I was able to get to the basket. And the second half, I was able to get my teammates second looks.”
UH guards Noel Coleman and Junior Madut alternated guarding Pippen before the ’Bows went with an ensemble cast of zone coverages.
“We knew they went zone because they didn’t want to guard us in man-to-man,” Pippen said. “I was trying to make gaps, so I could attack the hole and make my teammates open, as well as finish through the zone.”
Pippen was 8-for-16, with all his baskets launched inside the paint, including a cut-in, step-back jumper.
The ’Bows, who trailed by as many as 19, made a late run in the first half, scored the first seven points after the intermission to close to 38-31, and then cut it to 52-47 with 7:14 to play. But the Commodores scored 16 of the final 23 points to advance into tonight’s semifinal against Brigham Young. UH will place South Florida in a consolation-round game at 7 p.m.
“Tough loss,” Ganot said. “It’s hard to overcome that (28-9) start. Our guys gave it a go. … Again, 21 (overall) turnovers against anyone, let alone a good team, is hard to overcome. Credit them for their pressure. They really got us on our heels at every position. They got us to play close to half court. Every kind of turnover you could have, we had. Either it was in the paint on penetration or we get hit on a regular catch, (or) not meeting passes when we move the ball, playing on our back foot.”
The Commodores’ active, switching man-to-man defense often collapsed to seal the drives, then expanded to challenge passes around the perimeter. The ’Bows often were left to shoot outside of the Commodores’ defensive reach. The ’Bows’ first 12 points came on 3s. They did not hit their first 2-point shot until Coleman’s layup off a back-door cut with 5:37 remaining in the first half.
In his second game back after recovering from a hip injury, Coleman continued his sizzling shooting. Coleman was 12-for-19, including 6-for-10 from behind the arc, for a career-high 31 points. Coleman is admittedly not a stat-sheet watcher. “I just have to get the best shots as I can for my team,” he said. “It kind of happened tonight. It just wasn’t enough.”
The ’Bows were without starting center Mate Colina, who entered the health-safety protocol and will not be available for this four-day tournament. With Bernardo da Silva still on the mend from a hand injury, the ’Bows were without their two best rim protectors.
“It’s the year of adjustment,” Ganot said. “I’m careful saying, ‘hey, we don’t have this, this guy, this guy.’ It’s been going on the whole year. The better way is to say, ‘we’ve got to step up,’ myself included and find a way to get over the hump with whatever’s happening.”
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DIAMOND HEAD CLASSIC
At SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center
WEDNESDAY
>> Liberty 76, Northern Iowa 74
>> Stanford 66, Wyoming 63
>> BYU 54, South Florida 39
>> Vanderbilt 68, Hawaii 54
TODAY
>> Liberty vs. Stanford, 11 a.m.
>> Northern Iowa vs. Wyoming, 12:30 p.m.
>> Vanderbilt vs. BYU, 5 p.m.
>> Hawaii vs. South Florida, 7 p.m.
