Davidson drops 21 to help Hawai’i handle UT-Arlington in OUTRIGGER Rainbow Classic

HONOLULU – Old school still works.

Behind a rugged defensive effort and Zack Davidson’s 21-point outing, the University of Hawai’i men’s basketball team took down UT-Arlington on the second night of the 60th annual OUTRIGGER Rainbow Classic, 71-62.

It marked the eighth consecutive victory in the event and set the Rainbow Warriors up with a chance for a third straight Rainbow Classic crown on Monday night when they take on Portland at 7 p.m. HT. Hawai’i has not won the event in three straight seasons since a run of four Rainbow Classic titles from 2001 through 2004.

Davidson led the way with 21 points for the tournament hosts, scoring 14 points after halftime to help Hawai’i pull away from the Mavericks after a rock fight of a first half. It was the junior’s fifth career game with 20 or more points and his first in a UH uniform.

“You’d have to go back, dust some film from the 50s and 60s to find a throwback like him in some ways,” Hawai’i head coach Eran Ganot said about Davidson. “Angles, touch and physicality and intelligence … To a man, [the team] will tell you that [Davidson], whether it’s in the weight room, on the track, in the film room, questions, in the practice gym, he wants to be good. Usually, guys who want to be good, find a way to be good.”

Hawai’i (3-0) got off to a solid start against UT-Arlington, holding the Mavericks to a singular made field goal across the opening 12 minutes on the way to 19-6 lead. Six different Rainbow Warriors scored over that stretch, seeing Chance Trujillo lead the charge with a pair of makes from behind the arc.

The teams swapped roles for the final eight minutes of the first half, seeing UH connect on 2-of-14 shots from the field over the stretch as UTA took advantage of a discombobulated offensive attack from the hosts to work back and tie the game at 27 going into the break.

“I thought the first five minutes, the passion we played with … Complimentary basketball, offense was flowing, the defense was really effective and the rebounding,” Ganot said of the up-and-down opening half. “I think we missed some wide-open threes, and we missed some layups around the rim, and then it becomes how do we handle that? We don’t live and die by the three, we couldn’t make a three. We lived and died by the three a little bit [in the first half] because we started forcing the issue offensively rather than continue to get the good shots, which gave [UT-Arlington] life.”

The Mavericks kept the momentum rolling after halftime, taking a four-point lead through four minutes of action as big man Niko Bundalo and guard Tristan Hankins got loose for eight of the first 11 points for UTA during the stretch.

Bol Dengdit helped settle down Hawai’i with a few tough buckets in the paint while Davidson sat on the bench with three fouls, bringing the hosts back even with the Mavericks until Davidson returned about midway through the second half.

Then it was the Dengdit and Davidson show.

The two frontcourt starters combined for 27 of their 36 total points after halftime, seeing five straight buckets from the two help open up an eight-point advantage for the Rainbow Warriors with under eight minutes left to play.

Jaden Matingou added an and-one finish and a two-handed slam on the fast break to extend the lead to a game-high 14 points with 4:24 remaining.

UT-Arlington made it difficult down the stretch for Hawai’i, scoring 10 of the next 12 points to pull back within six with just under 90 seconds left in regulation. The Rainbow Warriors recovered and took care of business at the charity stripe though, making 7-of-8 from the line to clinch the 71-62 victory over the Mavericks and set up a championship chance on Monday night against Portland.

Four Rainbow Warriors finished in double figures in the win, led by Davidson’s 21 points. Dengdit scored 15 points while Chance Trujillo and Jaden Matingou each chipped in 12 points. Dengdit finished as a team-best plus-16 in his 29 minutes of action while Matingou was a plus-12 in 35 minutes of work.

“I thought at the 10-minute mark to the end of the half, we just started playing our brand [of basketball],” Ganot said of his team’s performance after halftime. “Zack was huge, Chance started to make great assists, great plays for our bigs and our frontcourt did a nice job in the second half. Obviously, really pleased with our free throw shooting late.”

Zack Davidson, Bol Dengdit & Kellen Hampton help up Jaden Matingou following an and-one finish in the second half. | Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

Hawai’i held the two-headed frontcourt monster of 6-foot-10 forward Niko Bundalo and 7-foot-1 center Teodor Simic to eight and seven points respectively, just two nights after the duo combined for 42 points in an 89-85 win over Portland on Friday.

“We challenged our bigs a little bit … We play inside-out and we haven’t won the paint, and I think they took ownership of that and were fired up and ready to go,” Ganot responded when asked about limiting the UTA duo. “I think [our frontcourt] took some ownership of the paint and I’m happy for them … I mean they’re a really good rebounding team and we were plus-five [on the glass].”

Hawai’i will look to keep its winning ways going on Monday night against Portland, who took down Bethesda, 130-56, earlier on Sunday after falling to the Mavericks on Friday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. HT and can be watched on K5 or the MW+ app.