Hawai’i hangs on against Chaminade behind Bullock’s 23-point night

HONOLULU – Popcorn prepared?

The University of Hawai’i men’s basketball team closed out the preseason slate with on Saturday night, holding off a high-pressure Chaminade squad for a 93-87 exhibition victory inside Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. Graduate transfer guard Dre Bullock dropped 23 points (9-13 FG) and grabbed eight rebounds in the win for the Rainbow Warriors.

Bullock poured in 15 of his 23 points after halftime, helping UH erase a 7-point deficit to win despite the team having an up-and-down offensive performance. Hunter Erickson scored all 10 of his points in the 2nd half, including back-to-back layups to put Hawai’i out in front late.

“First, want to give credit to Chaminade and their staff and their kids,” head coach Eran Ganot said after the win. “We were fortunate to finish strong, but we knew that coming in, their style of play, [the pressure], is hard to simulate.”

Hawai’i, who was without sophomore point guard Aaron Hunkin-Claytor but saw senior Gytis Nemeikša and freshman Hunter Carter return from injury, committed 22 turnovers as a team against the Silverswords’ full-court press and physical defense. Chaminade, who was selected to finish fourth in the 2025-26 PacWest preseason coaches’ poll, pressed from the opening tip and outscored UH on points off turnovers, 30-10.

“Definitely a little different, like the polar opposite of what we faced last game,” Erickson said when asked about CUH’s constant full-court pressure. “It kind of catches you off guard and they play the same way the entire game … it took us a minute to adjust but it’s a great prep for the rest of the year and being strong with the ball.”

The Rainbow Warriors made up for the sloppiness with the ball by dominating the glass, outrebounding the Silverswords 59-32 overall and 22-8 on the offensive boards. Hawai’i put up 50 of their 93 points in the paint and cleaned up with second-chance points with 24 after a miss.

Hawai’i got off to a quick start behind graduate transfer Tanner Cuff, who scored five of the Rainbow Warriors’ first nine points and assisted on another bucket in the early going. The 6-foot-7 guard stuffed the stat sheet for the second consecutive exhibition, racking up nine points, seven rebounds and six assists while turning the ball over four times in 29 minutes of action.

Chaminade’s Nathan Medina, who tallied 17 points for the Silverswords, brought the Division II visitors within a basket with 8:29 remaining in the opening frame as the Rainbow Warriors struggled to find an offensive rhythm against the pressure. Hawai’i was able to regain some breathing room with the help of forward Jalen Myers, who cleaned up a free throw miss from Carter to put UH back ahead by five and spark a 7-2 run.

Turnovers and more ugly shooting numbers from the Rainbow Warriors allowed CUH to climb back to end the first half as Medina drilled a pair of 3-pointers and finished a quick layup to make it a one-possession game at the midway break.

“[Chaminade] plays one way for 40 [minutes], up 10, down 10,” Ganot said postgame, alluding to the high-effort Run-and-Jump defense the Silverswords deploy. “We had a couple of those stretches where we needed to separate and here comes turnover, layup, turnover, layup and that’s something we can work on. But that’s why we play in these games.”

Bullock began the second half with a flurry of buckets, including his lone 3-pointer of the night that opened up a 52-45 lead for the Rainbow Warriors three minutes after play resumed.

“Honestly, just trying to do everything to win the game,” Bullock said of his performance in his first start at his new school. “We don’t take it lightly with [Chaminade], they’re a very good program so really just trying to play hard and get guys involved, shoot, rebound, do everything and just win.”

The Silverswords swung back with consecutive buckets from forward Nate Sasser III, knotting the game at 55 with 13:07 remaining before Sasser gave Chaminade the lead less than 30 seconds later by splitting a trip to the free throw line. Chico State transfer Isaiah Kerr, alongside Myers, helped keep Hawai’i from letting go of the rope with a few baskets to keep within striking distance as they fell down by seven with 8:31 left in regulation.  

Bullock reignited the Rainbow Warriors again as the clock ticked under eight minutes, hammering home a right-handed tomahawk jam along the baseline to cut the deficit to three for the hosts.

“I’ve told you guys about some of the explosiveness,” Ganot said about Bullock with a grin. “But I think he’s more than that.”

Erickson followed up Bullock’s high-flying act a few minutes later with a pair of transition layups that pushed UH ahead with 4:46 remaining. Nemeikša, who finished with eight points and a game-best 12 rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench, gave Hawai’i the lead for good with 3:36 to play after putting back his own miss.

Despite struggling to a 24-of-38 clip from the free throw line overall, UH cashed in from the charity stripe in the clutch as Bullock, Cuff and Harry Rouhliadeff went a combined 9-for-10 at the line over the final 2:19 of action to seal the win.

Rouhliadeff finished with 17 points and eight rebounds for the Rainbow Warriors after being named the team’s captain for the 2025-26 season last week.

Kent King led the way for Chaminade, scoring 23 points for the visitors while pulling down a team-best nine rebounds in the loss. The Silverswords finished with four different players in double figures, seeing Sasser and RJ Banks join the fun with 14 points apiece. CUH will begin the regular season on the road on November 15, traveling to take on the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Isaiah Kerr finished with nine points, four rebounds and two assists in 25 minutes off the bench for the Rainbow Warriors, providing a physical presence on both ends of the floor when UH needed.

Rubber hits the road for Hawai’i next as the Rainbow Warriors travel to the continent to begin the regular season, heading to Eugune to face off against the University of Oregon on November 4. The trip to face the Ducks marks a rare road opener for the program, marking the first time since 2006 that UH will begin the regular season away from the islands and just the sixth time in the last 55 years.