Frigid shooting sinks Hawai’i against Portland in OUTRIGGER Rainbow Classic finale

HONOLULU – Colder than a penguin’s tuxedo.

The University of Hawai’i men’s basketball team sputtered in the second half of the 2026 OUTRIGGER Rainbow Classic finale against Portland on Monday night, making five of their final 34 shots from the field as they fell to the Pilots, 73-66.

The Rainbow Warriors scored 10 more points in the paint, made one more 3-pointer and committed 10 fewer turnovers than their opponents on Monday, but shooting a frigid 36% from the field overall and 25% after halftime ultimately sank the hosts for the first time this season.

“Tough stretch, tough day,” head coach Eran Ganot said after the loss. “I thought our guys came out with great fire with our situation and couldn’t quite sustain it and that’s a credit to Portland, too … Obviously, we have work to do.”

Already without Manie Joses, Isaiah Kerr and Houran Dan available, the Rainbow Warriors found out less than 12 hours before the game that starting point guard Jaden Matingou would be unavailable for Monday’s matchup with the Pilots after suffering a toe injury.

Hawai’i was left with just 10 available players for the team’s third game in four days and forced a change to the starting lineup for the first time this year. With Matingou sidelined, freshman guard Tiger Cuff joined the first five for the Rainbow Warriors on Monday.

The offense got off to a nice start for the tournament hosts, hitting on four of the team’s first five shots to jump out to an 11-6 lead over Portland after five minutes of action. Hawai’i cooled off for the first of a few stretches over the next five minutes, hitting on 1-of-10 shots from the floor as the Pilots flew ahead by four with under 10 minutes left in the opening half.

Hawai’i’s offense turned up the heat with makes on seven of their next nine field goal attempts, draining a trio of threes to push back within a point, 31-30, with 4:10 remaining before halftime. Portland held off the Rainbow Warrior rally long enough to extend the advantage to four heading into the break, seeing center James O’Donnell power his way to a couple of buckets and kick out a perfect look to guard Parker Riley for a triple in the final stretch of the half.

The Rainbow Warriors pulled ahead momentarily when play resumed, seeing Tanner Cuff and Chance Trujillo each connect from long range to give the hosts a 46-44 lead to start the second half.

It was the final lead that Hawai’i would hold.

The offense fell off a cliff for UH over the next 10 minutes, seeing the team go 1-for-20 from the field and miss 18 consecutive shots before Tanner Cuff finally broke the icy streak with his fourth made 3-pointer of the evening to pull the hosts back within eight with 7:01 left in regulation.

Tanner Cuff handles the rock for Hawai’i during Monday’s loss against Portland. | Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

“I feel like we got some good shots at times, they just didn’t fall,” Cuff said of Hawai’i’s offensive woes after halftime. “Credit to [Portland’s] defense too, for sure.”

The offense didn’t improve much after breaking the scoreless streak, making four of the team’s final 15 attempts as Portland kept the Rainbow Warriors at arm’s length down the stretch.

Hawai’i kept within striking distance with a much better defensive showing after halftime, holding the Pilots to 36% shooting in the final 20 minutes after allowing the visitors to connect on 67% of their attempts from the field in the first half. Unfortunately for the Rainbow Warriors, the defensive effort went unrewarded as they dealt with their own offensive inefficiency.

Tanner Cuff led the way for Hawai’i in the loss, dropping 22 points on 7-of-15 shooting to go along with eight rebounds in 38 minutes of work. Only four players scored all game for the Rainbow Warriors, seeing Zack Davidson chip in 18 points, Bol Dengdit add 15 points and Chance Trujillo tally 11 points to go along with Cuff’s 22.

Cuff and Davidson each were named to the six-player All-Tournament team for Hawai’i after their performances over the weekend.

Portland got contributions up and down the roster, seeing James O’Donnell put up 18 points, nine rebounds and three blocks in the win on the way to earning Most Outstanding Player honors for the tournament. Riley Parker scored 14 for the Pilots with the help of a team-best four made 3-pointers and Jaxon Olvera snagged a spot on the All-Tournament team after scoring 12 points in the final game.

UT-Arlington guard Mier Panoam and center Teodor Simic rounded out the six-player All-Tournament team for the 60th annual OUTRIGGER Rainbow Classic.

Hawai’i was the overall tournament champion for the third straight time, winning the title via points allowed tiebreaker.

Hawai’i won’t play again until November 18, heading to the continent for a neutral site game against Washington State in Everett, Washington.

“Everybody has been grinding,” Ganot said when asked about the benefit of getting nine days between games. “You know, a lot of long hours … Recharge the batteries for everybody and then we get back to work.”