Rapp’s career night powers Hawai’i past Texas A&M Corpus-Christi

HONOLULU – Rapp God. 

UH senior captain Ryan Rapp posted a career-high 19 points on Saturday night, helping lift the University of Hawai’i men’s basketball team over visiting Texas A&M Corpus-Christi (6-5), 71-62. The guard drilled all five of his 3-point attempts and racked up six rebounds off the bench for the Rainbow Warriors, who will wrap up non-conference play in eight days with the 2024 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic to close the calendar year. 

Rapp was one of three Rainbow Warriors to finish in double figures as Marcus Greene added 15 points in his second straight start while Gytis Nemeikša chipped in an additional 14 points on an efficient 5-of-8 shooting performance. In all, eight of 10 Hawai’i players that received time scored and the bench outscored the opponent (31-29) for the fifth time in UH’s six wins. 

It was the fourth different starting lineup in the last four games for head coach Eran Ganot, who hinted in the postgame that the tinkering to the rotation could continue due to the abundance of talent at disposal for the Rainbow Warriors. With Rapp heading back to the bench after two straight starts, fellow captain Tom Beattie re-entered the first five after a one-game hiatus. 

Nemeikša shouldered the early load for Hawai’i (6-3), scoring six straight points to push the Rainbow Warriors ahead by a bucket by the first media timeout of the evening. Four straight points by the Islanders pushed the visitors back in front, but Akira Jacobs’ first 3-pointer of the night gave an 11-10 lead back to Hawai’i with 12:52 left to play in the opening half. 

Turnovers, which had given trouble to UH during the two-game road trip too, caused the Hawai’i offense to sputter as the Islanders went up by as much as eight with under eight minutes to play in the first half.  

Enter Ryan Rapp. 

Eight straight points by the senior captain provided the spark Hawai’i needed, spurring an extended run to finish the half. Two makes at the charity stripe by junior forward Harry Rouhliadeff knotted the game up at 28 just six seconds before halftime, seeing the Rainbow Warriors shake off a brutal shooting start to make it a winner-take-all 20 minutes on the other side of the midway pause. 

Kody Williams got the party started quickly again as play resumed, drilling a three for his first points of the evening before two dunks by Tanner Christensen and a Rapp steal-and-score gave the Rainbow Warriors a nine-point lead less than two and a half minutes after the break. In all, Hawai’i raced out on a 14-3 run to take a 42-31 advantage with under 16 minutes to play. 

The visiting Islanders, who entered the night forcing 15 or more turnovers in seven of the team’s first 10 games, responded with a 10-1 run of their own to pull back within a couple of points with 12:41 to play. The teams would trade baskets for a few minutes before Marcus Greene replenished a six-point cushion for Hawai’i with a mini personal 5-0 run that was capped by his only 3-point make of the night with 7:07 remaining in regulation. 

Tempers flared after Rouhliadeff set a heavy screen in the backcourt without a whistle, sending an Islanders defender to the floor in a heap and leading to head coach Jim Shaw getting a technical foul. Greene cashed in on both free throws and Rapp hit his fourth 3-pointer right after to extend the UH lead to 11 with five and a half minutes to play.

Rapp, Nemeikša and Greene brought the win home for the Rainbow Warriors, answering every TAMU-CC basket with one of their own on the way to snapping a two-game losing streak. The trio scored the final 10 points of the night for Hawai’i, sending the team into the 2024 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic with a solid win against a Southland Conference contender in the back pocket, 71-62. 

Shilo Jackson and Garry Clark each finished with 11 points for Texas A&M Corpus-Christi, who shot 42% from the field as a team and missed seven free throws in the loss. The Islanders remained winless away from home, dropping to 0-4 on the road while all six wins have come as hosts of the game. 

Tanner Christensen scored eight points, all in the second half, and snapped up six rebounds to go with a pair of blocks in the win for Hawai’i. It marked the first of six straight games inside the friendly confines of SimplFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center for the Rainbow Warriors, playing the next three in the Diamond Head Classic before resuming Big West play in the new year at home. 

Hawai’i will face off with Charlotte to begin the tournament on December 22, closing out the opening day of games with a 6:30 p.m. HT tip-off.