Clutch Christensen bucket helps Hawai’i hold off UH-Hilo in exhibition opener

HILO – Basketball season is here. 

The University of Hawai’i at Mānoa took the trip to the Big Island for the first time in over a decade to face off against the University of Hawai’i-Hilo inside the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium on Friday night, vanquishing the Vulcans 64-61 in front of a loud, engaged crowd. Graduate transfer center Tanner Christensen posted a double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds) in his first game in Rainbow Warrior threads while Gytis Nemeikša poured in a game-high 14 points for visiting UH-Mānoa. 

“There’s a reason we wanted to play (UH-Hilo) in Hilo,” Hawai’i head coach Eran Ganot said of the sweaty matchup against the Vulcans. “They built momentum off of turning us over, 2nd-chance points … the two best things that we did were finish the half well and finish the game well, but the rest of the game was theirs.”

Hawai’i out-rebounded UH-Hilo, 36-23, and shot 53.2 percent from the floor as nine different players etched stats in the scorebook, but the Vulcans used high-pressure defense and a pair of full-court presses to help force the Rainbow Warriors into 24 turnovers to help keep the game tight. Sophomore guard Tom Beattie, named a captain in his second season with the program, took a swing at handling lead guard duties for Hawai’i and chipped in 12 points and six assists while committing five turnovers in the victory. 

The Vulcans, much like the home crowd in attendance, were ready from the tip to blitz the Division I Rainbow Warriors as UH-Hilo won the jump ball and saw Jake Kosakowski drill a three-pointer to help the hosts open the game on a 7-1 run. After absorbing the initial offensive barrage, UH brought the game back within a bucket, 14-12, as Akira Jacobs showed off some of the improvements he worked on over summer by scoring seven of the next nine UH points. 

Hawai’i finally took the first lead of the night with just under six minutes left in the 1st half when Tom Beattie worked his way to the basket and laid it up with his right hand to make it 24-23 in favor of the Rainbow Warriors. The Vulcans responded with back-to-back 3-pointers from Julian Roberts and Julio Montes II to take a five-point lead with just over five minutes left before halftime. 

Back-to-back buckets by Nemeikša gave Hawai’i a slim one-point advantage as the seconds ticked closer to half and Christensen powered through a dunk just before the break to send the Rainbow Warriors into the locker room leading by three. 

The teams continued to trade baskets to begin the 2nd half, seeing Roberts knot the game at 42-all with 15 minutes left to play after Nemeikša and Christensen came out of the locker room strong for UH-Mānoa. The Vulcans, using an attacking style on both ends of the floor and the slick conditions of the court, quickly got the Rainbow Warriors into foul trouble as the Division I visitors were whistled for 10 fouls just seven minutes into the 2nd half action. 

Using free chances at the charity stripe and continuous turnovers in the backcourt by UH-Mānoa, UH-Hilo remained lurking for the program’s first victory against the Division I counterpart. After Montes II drilled a pair of free throws to give the Vulcans a 61-59 lead with under two minutes to play, Beattie and Christensen showed off some of the new-found two-man chemistry to pull the Rainbow Warriors away from the edge of defeat. 

Beattie got fouled with 47 seconds to play and calmly stepped to the free throw line, tying the game at 61-all with a pair of clean swishes for Hawai’i. After forcing a Vulcans miss on the ensuing possession, head coach Eran Ganot opted against calling a timeout and allowed the team to try to execute down the stretch. 

“”[Beattie] had a lot of unforced turnovers that he’d like to have back [but] the big thing I’m proud of him because he’s a fighter and he saved his best for last,” Ganot said of his sophomore lead guard. “There’s a lot of people who struggle at times and wilt and he was at his absolute best late in the game. Big free throws, great decision late, big stops.”

Beattie and Christensen did so beautifully, working the pick-and-roll to perfection as the 6-foot-5 Beattie floated it over to the big man and Christensen absorbed the contact from a UH-Hilo defender to finish (plus the foul) and gave the Rainbow Warriors a three-point lead with 4.6 seconds left to play. 

“This team, especially with a lot of new faces, has to go through experiences like this,” Ganot said.

The Vulcans got the ball in to center Nadjrick Peat on the final inbound and the 6-foot-11 senior’s half-court heave bounced off the backboard, seeing the UH-Hilo upset bid come up short. 

Peat led UH-Hilo with 12 points and a pair of blocked shots while each Julian Roberts and Julio Montes II finished in double figures with 11 and 10 points respectively. The Vulcans begin the regular season in a week’s time when they travel to Canada for the CCA Canadian Tip-off Classic, facing Simon Fraser at 2:15 p.m. HT. 

Hawai’i will enjoy another exhibition on a neighbor island next weekend when they travel to Maui for a matchup against the Chaminade Silverswords.