Rebounding falters late as Hawai’i comes up short at Oregon

One more rebound was all they needed.

The University of Hawai’i men’s basketball team fought hard on the road to open the 2025-26 regular season, erasing 14-point second half deficit and holding a one-point advantage in the final seconds before ultimately falling against the University of Oregon in Eugune, 60-59. Takai Simpkins led the way for the Ducks, pouring in a game-best 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting and hitting the game-winning layup with 4.3 seconds left in regulation.

Isaac Johnson paced the Rainbow Warriors in scoring as the only player for the visitors to finish in double figures, racking up 13 points, eight rebounds, three steals and a block before fouling out with five minutes remaining. The former Duck made a major impact despite the foul trouble, finishing with the highest plus-minus of any player on either squad as a +22 in 13 minutes of action.

Ike Finlinson chipped in nine points and three rebounds in 27 minutes off the bench, providing some much-needed scoring on a night that saw UH shoot 32% from the field and hit 5-of-27 attempts from long distance against a strong Oregon defense. Gytis Nemeikša and Harry Rouhliadeff, who both dealt with foul trouble throughout the contest as well, each added eight points while combining for three blocks and nine personal fouls.

Hawai’i started quickly, getting out to a 7-2 lead after two and a half minutes of action as Johnson banked in a 3-pointer for his first official basket as a Rainbow Warrior. Oregon responded with nine of the game’s next 11 points, giving the hosts their first advantage of the evening with 15:04 remaining in the first half.

Finlinson gave Hawai’i the lead back with just over nine minutes left until halftime as the former JUCO National Player of the Year drilled his first triple with UH to make it a 17-16 lead for the visiting Rainbow Warriors. Back-to-back buckets from Simpkins pushed the Ducks back ahead momentarily, but a strong finish through contact plus the foul for Finlinson allowed UH to swing back in front, 22-20.

Oregon again punched back as the Ducks closed the first half on a 13-4 run, holding Hawai’i without a field goal for the final 4:52 of the stanza to take a seven-point lead into the locker room.

The second half opened with déjà vu for Hawai’i, scoring nine of the first 12 points out of the halftime break to pull within one at the under-16 media timeout as Dre Bullock drained his first three as a Rainbow Warrior.

Unfortunately, the break in the action halted UH’s momentum as well as Oregon went on a 14-1 run following the timeout, putting Hawai’i in its biggest hole of the evening, 50-36.

Bullock sparked the lifeless Rainbow Warriors less than 30 seconds later, coming up with a steal after Oregon F Kwame Evans Jr. suffered an apparent injury and dishing it off to Nemeikša for an open three at the top of the arc to end the scoring drought. After Isaac Johnson’s tip-slam from a missed Hunter Erickson layup, Bullock brought the house down with a poster dunk over Ducks all-conference center Nate Bittle on the next possession to make it a seven-point contest with 8:33 remaining.

Despite losing both Nemeikša and Johnson from fouling out, the Rainbow Warriors put together a 23-8 run over a nine-and-a-half-minute span to take a 59-58 lead over the Ducks with 1:34 left to play after Yacine Toumi split two free throws.

Hawai’i held onto the lead into the waning moments of the game, stopping four different shots by Oregon in the final 40 seconds before giving up a fourth offensive rebound and seeing Simpkins finish a tough layup off glass to save the Ducks from a Rainbow Warrior upset, 60-59.

The four late offensive rebounds shifted the game result and helped Oregon secure the rebounding battle as they narrowly edged Hawai’i on the glass, 47-41. Nate Bittle, who was selected to the preseason all-Big 10 team after a third-team all-Big 10 campaign last season, finished the night with 12 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, blocking four shots to make up for a 3-of-8 night shooting.

Dre Bullock ended up with seven points and seven rebounds, shooting 3-of-10 from the floor as one of many Rainbow Warriors who struggled to find an offensive rhythm. Hunter Erickson, who had a last-gasp chance to win it at the buzzer for UH, added six points, three rebounds and three assists but connected on 2-of-11 shots on the night.

Hawai’i’s defense turned in quality results in a major test to open the year, holding the Ducks to 60 points on a ghastly 36% shooting from the field and 13% from long range. The Rainbow Warriors also forced 21 turnovers, more than Oregon committed in any game last season.

UH will return home and look to bounce back on Sunday, November 9, playing host to East Texas A&M at 8 p.m. HT to open up an 11-game homestand. The Rainbow Warriors next hit the road on New Year’s Day, visiting UC Riverside to kick off the final Big West marathon.