Hawai’i holds off Long Beach State to snap losing streak

HONOLULU – Held ‘em off. 

The University of Hawai’i men’s basketball team snapped its 2-game losing streak on Thursday night, holding off a furious late rally to take down Long Beach State, 62-60. Marcus Greene and Ryan Rapp led the way for the Rainbow Warriors, each chipping in 10 points as they secured a season split with the Beach. 

Rapp, who re-entered the starting lineup after coming off the bench for the previous four games, provided a steady hand for Hawai’i with five points in each half before dealing with foul trouble late. Greene recorded his 10th game of the season with 10 or more points, masquerading as “Captain Clutch” down the stretch as he scored the final four points for the Rainbow Warriors to clinch the win. 

Hawai’i (14-11, 6-8 Big West) also got major contributions from junior Harry Rouhliadeff and freshman Aaron Hunkin-Claytor, who each continued to show off their consistent growth this season. Rouhliadeff racked up nine points and nine rebounds, grabbing five offensive boards in 33 minutes of action while Hunkin-Claytor saw a career-high 29 minutes lead to eight points, five rebounds, a steal and an assist in the win. 

Tanner Christensen helped the Rainbow Warriors get off to a night start, knocking down his third 3-pointer of the season to push UH out to a 9-6 lead in the opening minutes. Rouhliadeff got in on the big man long-range shooting fun a couple of minutes later, doubling the Hawai’i lead to six with 12:01 left in the first half. 

A 5-minute scoring drought followed for the Rainbow Warriors, but an improved defensive effort and focus helped Hawai’i keep Long Beach State without a field goal over the same span. Christensen finally ended the dry spell for Hawai’i with a tough take to the rim, giving an 18-11 lead to UH with 7:30 to play before the break. 

The Beach would pull within a point with three minutes left in the first half on the back of a 9-3 run, seeing Devin Askew slice inside for a layup to make it 21-20, but a strong answer by Hawai’i closed out the first stanza as Marcus Greene helped the Rainbow Warriors go into the locker room leading by five. 

Hawai’i raced out of the gate to open the second half, seeing Ryan Rapp and Aaron Hunkin-Claytor take turns tormenting the LBSU defense as the UH lead grew to nine after five minutes of play. Gytis Nemeikša extended the Hawai’i advantage to double figures a few minutes later, giving the Rainbow Warriors a 47-35 lead with under 10 minutes left in regulation. 

The hosts remained in control for the next several minutes, seeing solid interior passing lead to a dunk from Tanner Christensen to maintain an 11-point advantage for UH with 3:43 left in regulation, but a timely 3-pointer from LBSU guard TJ Wainwright pulled the visiting Beach within single digits as the teams went to their huddles for the night’s final media timeout. Following the timeout, the Long Beach State comeback momentum got a jumpstart after a flailing Wainwright drew a friendly whistle on a 3-point try in front of the visiting bench – sending fans and the Hawai’i bench into a frenzy. 

“I’ve got to watch it [again],” said Ganot of the call, which had him visibly displeased in the moment. “If you’re asking me specifically, I thought there was a leg kick in there and you’re not allowed to do that … I have great respect for officials, I have great respect for the crew … I’ll have to take [another] look at it and go from there.” 

Wainwright drained all three free throws after a small delay, pulling Long Beach State within five with 2:41 still to play and sparking new life for the visitors. Hunkin-Claytor split a pair of foul shots before another Wainwright triple made it a one-possession game with 90 seconds to play, 58-55. 

Enter Marcus Greene. 

After Hawai’i secured an offensive rebound, the senior guard drained out as much of the clock he could before calmly cashing a mid-range jumper to give the Rainbow Warriors a 5-point lead once again with 35 seconds left. Another 3-pointer from LBSU gave one last chance of life to the visitor’s comeback effort, but Greene closed the door on the Beach with two clutch free throws with 5.9 seconds to play that gave Hawai’i a two-possession advantage. 

TJ Wainwright led the way in the loss for Long Beach State, scoring 20 points and knocking down 3-of-5 from long distance to help the visitors claw as close as two in the waning seconds. Devin Askew added 16 points on a rough 5-of-20 shooting performance, seeing multiple different defenders thrown at him throughout the night as the Beach fell for the ninth consecutive game. 

Hawai’i will look to build on the much-needed win on Saturday when UC Irvine comes to town for the second meeting of the season between the programs. The Anteaters, who beat the Rainbow Warriors by 16 in the first meeting three weeks ago, are coming off a sweaty victory of their own after a buzzer-beater helped hold off UC Santa Barbara to remain tied atop the Big West standings. Tip-off between UH and UCI is scheduled for 7 p.m. HT on Saturday night.