Hawai’i defense stifles UC San Diego as McBee joins elite company

Hawai’i defense stifles UC San Diego as McBee joins elite company

Feb 22, 2025

Hawai’i G MeiLani McBee runs back on defense during a home game earlier in the season. The sharpshooter reached 200 career 3-point makes on Saturday, drilling three triples in the Rainbow Wahine’s win over UC San Diego. | Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

Hawai’i defense stifles UC San Diego as McBee joins elite company

BY PAUL BRECHT | HONOLULU
PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 22, 2025

HONOLULU – Sweet shooting on one end.  

Shockingly bad on the other. 

The University of Hawai’i women’s basketball team kept on winning Saturday night, using an elite defense and quality 3-point shooting to take down UC San Diego (13-14, 9-6 Big West) inside the Stan Sheriff Center, 49-44. Lily Wahinekapu led the Rainbow Wahine in scoring with 13 points (2-of-3 3PT), the ninth time this season that the senior guard has finished as the game-high scorer for UH.

MeiLani McBee drained three more 3-pointers in the victory, turning in all 11 of her points in the second quarter to help Hawai’i (20-6, 14-2 Big West) put a healthy margin between themselves and the Tritons by halftime. The three 3-pointers gave McBee an even 200 career makes from behind the arc, joining Amy Atwell as just the second Rainbow Wahine player ever hit the milestone. 

Senior guard Kelsie Imai did a little bit of everything for UH, scoring seven points, grabbing five rebounds and dishing out seven more assists to put her on the doorstep of the top five in program history for career helpers. Imani Perez ended the night with six points and nine rebounds, helping anchor a Rainbow Wahine defense that forced UC San Diego to shoot just 17-of-70 from the field. 

“Yeah, our defense is on point right now,” head coach Laura Beeman said of the Rainbow Wahine after the game. “These guys have absolutely made a commitment to what we know we need to do on the defensive side of the ball. I think our biggest challenge right now is [the turnover, rebounding and free throw discrepancies].” 

Despite turning the ball over 22 times and allowing 14 offensive rebounds, the Rainbow Wahine held the lead at the end of each frame throughout the night. Lily Wahinekapu helped Hawai’i get off to a strong start with an early 3-pointer of her own to go along with a beautiful floating layup in transition for an 11-9 advantage after one frame. 

McBee took the torch in the second period, rattling off an 8-2 run by herself before adding one last 3-pointer to help put the Rainbow Wahine up by seven at the halftime break. After the 3-point barrage from the sharpshooter, she sits five makes away from matching the all-time program record. The defense stepped up in a big way in the quarter for UH as well, holding UCSD to three makes across 22 attempts across the 10 minutes of action.

“We always tell [MeiLani] that she needs to hunt for her shot,” Hawai’i senior guard Kelsie Imai said when asked about the impact McBee has on the team’s offense. “Sometimes she’s very passive with it, but if Mei feels good, it’s going in.” 

The defense continued tightening in the third quarter for Hawai’i, dominating the glass while holding the Tritons to four total points in the frame to grow the advantage to 15 with 10 minutes left to play. The sisters in Jovi Lefotu and Wahinekapu strung together two-thirds of the Rainbow Wahine’s points in the period after halftime as Hawai’i looked well on the way to win number 20 on the season. 

UC San Diego, who came into the game as winners of three of their last four, would not go down quietly in the islands. After Kelsie Imai’s layup to start the fourth gave Hawai’i its biggest lead of the night at 17, the Tritons fought back furiously to cut the deficit as low as six with just over a minute to play before the Rainbow Wahine recovered to ultimately hold off UCSD. 

The Tritons saw Gracie Gallegos and Sumayah Sugapong finish the night with 12 points each, needing a combined 36 shots from the field to each turn in double figures. Sabrina Ma was held to just six points on 2-of-15 shooting as Hawai’i swept the regular season series over UCSD. 

The victory secured UH head coach Laura Beeman’s fifth 20-win season in the islands and the program’s 18th overall season reaching that threshold. Hawai’i has won 20 games in three of the last four seasons but have been stuck with that ceiling as of late; the Rainbow Wahine have not tallied above 20 wins in a single season since winning 21 contests across the 2015-16 slate.  

(Hawai’i’s single season highwater win mark under Beeman is 23, which came during the 2014-15 season) 

Despite the 14-game win streak, the program’s longest since that ‘14-15 run, Beeman and her team just remain focused on ways to improve in time for the next challenger. 

“It’s working for us right now because our defense is holding,” Beeman said after the game. “If you get a team though that gets hot, that becomes really scary and we’re just leaving too many points on the floor … Here’s the positive with that; number one, yes, we’re still winning, but number two, it gives us such great room for growth.” 

Hawai’i hits the road for the final time during the regular season next week, traveling to UC Riverside on Thursday to close out the month of February. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. HT and can be watched on ESPN+ with a subscription. 

Hawai’i dismantled by UC San Diego in ugly loss

Hawai’i dismantled by UC San Diego in ugly loss

Feb 22, 2025

Hawai’i C Tanner Christensen heads to the bench during a home game for the Rainbow Warriors. | Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

Hawai’i dismantled by UC San Diego in ugly loss

BY PAUL BRECHT | HONOLULU
PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 22, 2025

Over before it truly began. 

The University of Hawai’i men’s basketball team sputtered to the finish line on Saturday evening, getting blitzed early and never recovering against UC San Diego (24-4, 14-2 Big West) in an 83-44 throttling in La Jolla, Calif., seeing Big West Conference Player of the Year contender Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones go for a game-high 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field for the Tritons. The 39-point loss marked the largest final margin of defeat against a conference opponent for the Rainbow Warriors since joining the Big West. 

Tyler McGhie followed closely behind Tait-Jones for UC San Diego, pouring in 17 points and drilling three of the Tritons’ 13 total makes from 3-point range. The victory marked the ninth straight for UC San Diego, who holds a one-game advantage over UC Irvine for the top spot in the Big West standings with two weeks of games remaining before the tournament. 

Hawai’i’s standing ahead of the conference tournament is on much shakier ground after suffering the team’s seventh loss in the last 10 games. The Rainbow Warriors (14-13, 6-10 Big West) failed to finish with a double-digit scorer, seeing Ryan Rapp’s nine-point night lead the way for the visitors on a night that the team shot a season-worst 26.8% from the field. 

The only lead of the night Hawai’i would hold two and a half minutes into the action after Tanner Christensen rolled a layup in over the front of the rim to give the Rainbow Warriors a 5-4 advantage. UC San Diego would rattle off the next 12 points before Gytis Nemeikša snapped the scoring drought with a made free throw before his second shot was waved off due to a lane violation. 

Another 12-1 run from the Tritons put the hosts firmly in the drivers’ seat as Hawai’i struggled through a near-nine-minute field goal drought. Akira Jacobs finally ended the dry spell from the floor as he connected from 3-point range with 8:45 left before halftime to pull the Rainbow Warriors back within 20. 

A layup from Ryan Rapp made it a 14-point deficit for Hawai’i with 5:15 remaining in the first half, but that would be the closest that the Rainbow Warriors would get for the rest of the night as they failed to score again before heading into the locker rooms trailing UC San Diego, 42-17. The first half was not kind in any way to UH, seeing the visitors shoot 18.8% from the field (6-for-32 FG) while UCSD drained 9-of-13 from behind the 3-point arc alone. 

The second half did not treat Hawai’i much better, seeing the Rainbow Warriors fall down by as many as 40 points as UC San Diego bludgeoned UH until the final horn with nine of the team’s 11 players that saw time recording at least one bucket. Hawai’i shot a slightly more respectable 37.5% from the floor after halftime but turned the ball over six times in the final 20 minutes and got beaten on the glass again. 

Harry Rouhliadeff finished with eight points and six rebounds for the Rainbow Warriors while freshman guard Aaron Hunkin-Claytor ended the day with seven points, three rebounds and a trio of assists in the loss. Hawai’i returns home next week for the final two home games of the season, hosting UC Riverside on Thursday evening before celebrating this year’s senior class on Saturday, March 1 after the Rainbow Warriors’ last home contest of 2025 against UC Davis. 

Punahou ends Saint Louis’ reign with historic state title win

Punahou ends Saint Louis’ reign with historic state title win

Feb 22, 2025

Punahou explodes from its bench following the final buzzer of the program’s state-record 12th title in boys’ basketball. | Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

Punahou ends Saint Louis’ reign with historic state title win

BY PAUL BRECHT | HONOLULU
PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 22, 2025

HONOLULU – The Sons of O’ahu stand alone. 

The Punahou Buff ‘N Blue (28-8, 9-5) pulled off a stunning upset of three-time defending state champion juggernaut Saint Louis (32-2, 13-0) on Friday night inside the Stan Sheriff Center, using a massive third quarter run to race ahead and claim the 2025 Hawaii Pacific Health/HHSAA Division I boys’ basketball state title, 43-40. Punahou guard Dane Kellner led a balanced effort for the Buff ‘N Blue with 13 points, five rebounds and two assists in 31 minutes of work while sophomore forward Zion White scored the go-ahead bucket and turned in a 9-point, 13-rebound effort to power the program to its state-leading 12th championship on the court. 

Dash Watanabe added nine points for Punahou while Ethan Chung knocked down a pair of 3-pointers, including the go-ahead bucket in the third quarter that gave the Buff ‘N Blue their first lead of the night. A dominant second half on both ends of the court helped Punahou pull off the upset, holding Saint Louis to under 30% shooting from the field after halftime while connecting on nearly 50% of their own tries. 

Caelan Fernando was the lone Crusader to finish in double figures, turning in 11 points to go with four rebounds and four assists in the loss. Pupu Sepulona, who will finish his high school career amongst the winningest high school student-athletes ever before heading off to play football at the University of Utah, scored nine points and snatched a team-high seven rebounds for Saint Louis but struggled at the free throw line throughout the night, going 5-for-9 and splitting a pair with a chance to tie the game in the waning seconds. 

Saint Louis came smoking out of the start, scoring the game’s first seven points to force an early timeout from their ILH rival on the way to an 11-4 lead after one quarter. The Buff ‘N Blue, who were without the services of Zion White for the majority of the opening frame after the sophomore forward picked up two quick fouls, found the offense’s rhythm in the second quarter, trading buckets with the Crusaders to remain within striking distance heading into halftime, 22-16. 

A shift defensively to include a zone look from Punahou helped the Buff ‘N Blue turn the tides completely in the third quarter, holding Saint Louis to just three makes across 11 attempts in the frame as Kellner came alive offensively with seven points in the period. Ethan Chung gave Punahou its first lead with 2:39 left in the stanza, 27-26, draining a left-wing 3-pointer after Kellner snagged an offensive rebound to keep some momentum going. 

The Crusaders took the lead back momentarily after Jordan Nunuha finished a tough take to the cup on the next possession, but another Kellner offensive board led to a putback for the lead once again for Punahou. Dash Watanabe capped off a 14-2 run for the Buff ‘N Blue to end the frame with his lone 3-point make of the night, sending Punahou into the final frame leading by four.

Another Kellner bucket put Punahou up 38-30 with 4:01 left to play, sending Saint Louis into the final media timeout trailing by the largest margin it had all night. The 3-time defending state champion Crusaders did not panic, showing championship mettle as they carefully fought back and erased the deficit and tie the game at 39 with 1:10 left to play. 

Punahou turned to sophomore forward Zion White with the championship hanging in the balance and watched as the 6-foot-6 wing dropped in the go-ahead layup over a pair of defenders with 57 seconds left in regulation, sending the Buff ‘N Blue faithful into a frenzy. 

Saint Louis had a prime opportunity to tie it with just under 12 seconds left after Pupu Sepulona was fouled on a putback, but the forward missed the first attempt from the line before cashing in on the second to pull the Crusaders within one. After a close call on the inbound, Punahou got the ball into the hands of senior guard Houston Hosada, who calmly sank two free throws to give the Buff ‘N Blue a three-point cushion with 7.9 seconds to play. 

The Crusaders got off one final shot to try and tie, a tough 3-pointer from Shancin Revuelto, but the ball sailed long and into the hands of White as Punahou ended a 7-year drought since the program’s last state title on the basketball court for the boys. The 12th overall championship for Punahou also broke a tie with ‘Iolani for the most among programs in Hawai’i. 

The second half comeback completed an impressive, improbable run from the end of the regular season to the pinnacle of playoff hoops in Hawai’i. Punahou was without the services of its leading scorer for the final couple weeks of the season after sophomore Tanoa Scanlan (18.0 ppg) suffered a hand injury that ended his year prematurely. 

Punahou players celebrate with fellow classmates in the crowd after upsetting top-seeded Saint Louis in the 2025 Hawaii Pacific Health/HHSAA Division I boys’ basketball championship game. | Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

Punahou raises the trophy following an incredible 2nd half comeback win over top-seeded Saint Louis for the program’s 12th state title. | Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

Seabury Hall hops over Hawaii Prep, secures first basketball state title

Seabury Hall hops over Hawaii Prep, secures first basketball state title

Feb 21, 2025

The Seabury Hall Spartans boys basketball team pose for a photo after defeating the Hawaii Prep Academy Ka Makani, 49-33, in the Hawaii Pacific Health Division II State Championship game. | Photo Credit: Rayden Aoki, ScoringLive

Seabury Hall hops over Hawaii Prep, secures first basketball state title

BY PAUL BRECHT | HONOLULU
PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 21, 2025

HONOLULU – One year later, the script looks a bit different for Seabury Hall. 

The Spartans were no stranger to the state tournament with their current core. The MIL champions experienced a deep state playoff run as recently as last season, dominating through preseason and league play before falling in overtime to defending state champion Kohala in the 2024 HHSAA Division II state title game.  

Top-seeded Seabury Hall (29-4, 14-0) would not be denied this time, completing a movie-like season with a wire-to-wire victory over Hawaii Prep Academy (21-8, 12-2) in the 2025 Hawaii Pacific Health/HHSAA Division II boys’ basketball championship game on Friday night, 49-33. Senior wing Bromo Dorn dominated for the Spartans, pouring in 20 points, seven rebounds and three steals while playing all 32 minutes to help lift the Spartans to the program’s first-ever state championship on the basketball court. 

Seabury guard Sebastian Peterson added 17 points and seven rebounds, exhibiting a cool, calm and collected demeanor throughout the evening as he hit 5-of-8 attempts from the field while cashing in on 7-of-8 attempts from the charity stripe. The Spartans dominated on the glass, winning the rebounding battle over Ka Makani, 31-21. 

Hawaii Prep Academy was led by Vander Eberhard’s 11 points and two blocked shots as the 6-foot-7 sophomore tried to power Ka Makani back from a slow start. The forward was the lone HPA player to finish in double figures as Seabury Hall’s defense held the BIIF runners-up to 31.6% shooting from the field as a team. 

Much like they had all season, the Spartans raced out to an early lead as Dorn and Peterson took turns tormenting the HPA defense in the opening quarter. The duo combined scored all but three of the Spartans’ first-quarter points as Seabury Hall took an 11-point advantage at the end of one frame. 

The teams traded baskets (and more stops) in the second quarter, seeing Seabury take a 12-point lead into the locker room at the half despite Hawaii Prep Academy breaking out of the defensive shackles from the first quarter. Ka Makani’s defense kicked up to start the second half as well, but the offense returned to a slumber as Seabury Hall remained up by double digits after three quarters. 

The fourth quarter was a coronation for the Spartans, expanding the lead to as many as 16 in the line-to-line victory, leaving no chance for a comeback this time around as the program etched its name in the history books as the first Seabury Hall team to reach the mountaintop in Division II boys’ basketball. 

The Seabury Hall Spartans boys basketball team hoist up the koa head trophy after defeating the Hawaii Prep Academy Ka Makani, 49-33, in the Hawaii Pacific Health Division II State Championship game. | Photo Credit: Rayden Aoki, ScoringLive

 

Hawai’i popped early, often in wire-to-wire loss to UC Irvine

Hawai’i popped early, often in wire-to-wire loss to UC Irvine

Feb 16, 2025

Hawai’i head coach Eran Ganot looks on during a home game for the Rainbow Warriors. UH fought back multiple times but still fell by double digits to UC Irvine Saturday night. | Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

Hawai’i popped early, often in wire-to-wire loss to UC Irvine

BY PAUL BRECHT | HONOLULU
PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 16, 2025

HONOLULU – Tipsy-turvy turnover team. 

The University of Hawai’i men’s basketball team struggled with giveaways early and shot a season-low 29.1% from the field on Saturday night, watching Big West co-leader UC Irvine (22-4, 12-2 Big West) control from start to finish in a 66-49 loss inside the Stan Sheriff Center. Bent Leuchten dominated on both ends for the Anteaters, posting a game-high 21 points on an uber-efficient 7-of-8 shooting performance to go along with seven rebounds and four blocks. 

“He made a point to set the tone,” Hawai’i head coach Eran Ganot said of the UCI center after the game. “Give him credit. He deserves to be in the conversation for [Big West Player of the Year] on a team that’s at the top … Rewards go to the aggressor, and he was aggressive. He made it very clear in the paint that he was going to be strong in the paint.”

The Rainbow Warriors committed 14 turnovers and made 16 total field goals throughout the entirety of the action, committing nine of those giveaways in the game’s opening 10 minutes as the Anteaters jumped in front and never looked back. Four players finished in double figures for Hawai’i, seeing Tanner Christensen lead the way with 12 points on 4-of-12 shooting. 

Gytis Nemeikša, Ryan Rapp and Aaron Hunkin-Claytor each added 10 points for the Rainbow Warriors, each helping spark runs for UH to pull closer in the second half before ultimately succumbing to the constant pressure of the UCI efficiency. Without the services of Kody Williams, who suffered an injury in the first half of Hawai’i’s win over LBSU on Thursday, Hunkin-Claytor saw a career-high 32 minutes at the point. 

Hawai’i (14-12, 6-9 Big West) turned the ball over on the first three possessions of the game, leading directly to six points for UCI to open the contest. The turnovers continued to plague the Rainbow Warriors and power the Anteaters, seeing nine giveaways create a 19-8 deficit for UH after 10 minutes of action. 

Consecutive buckets from Nemeikša and Hunkin-Claytor snapped an extended scoring drought for Hawai’i, bringing the hosts within seven momentarily before UCI threw another jab to keep the Rainbow Warriors down by double figures heading into halftime, 35-22. Hawai’i shot 9-of-28 from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, missing on multiple good looks close as the interior defense of UCI showed off its effects. 

Christensen tried to help spark Hawai’i in the second half, draining a 3-pointer for the third straight game and fourth time this season in the opening minutes after the break to start an 11-4 run for the Rainbow Warriors that eventually pulled them within 10 with 12:38 left to play. Again, UC Irvine absorbed the blow to the lead and checked back with the next seven points to quiet the Hawai’i crowd again. 

As the Hawai’i offense found some semblance of success midway through the second half, the Anteaters turned to the posts once again as Leuchten drubbed his UH counterparts over and over while keeping the margin above 15 for the visitors. One final push from Hawai’i brought the Rainbow Warriors as close as 11 with four minutes to play, but an extended stoppage after a scrum between UH’s Ryan Rapp and UCI’s Myles Che halted the momentum for the hosts. 

Che and Rapp got tied up for a loose ball before Rapp seemingly lost his cool after getting up, leading to the senior receiving a technical foul and the officials to go to the monitor for further review of the play. After replay showed that Che had swung a backhanded closed fist to the jaw of Rapp, the UCI guard was promptly ejected and play resumed. 

“Honestly, it was just a dirty play by him,” Rapp said when asked about the scuffle with Che. “I get in a game that there’s going to be mixed emotions – especially when it’s a dog fight, and it’s always a dog fight with Irvine – but I thought it was a dirty play, but I also have got to keep my composure in that situation so that he gets thrown out and I don’t get a technical.” 

With a five-minute delay in the rearview mirror, Hawai’i’s offense once again fell apart against the airtight Anteater defense as they failed to score until Nemeikša put in an inconsequential layup with one second left with the game already decided, 66-49. 

Hawai’i will look to re-group with a bye on Thursday before hitting the road to take on the other leader in the Big West clubhouse, UC San Diego, on February 22. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. HT and can be seen on ESPN+ with a subscription.