Last-second shot too strong as Hawai’i falls late at UC Davis

Last-second shot too strong as Hawai’i falls late at UC Davis

Jan 23, 2025

Hawai’i G Ryan Rapp handles the ball during a home game. The senior was one of four Rainbow Warriors to finish with 10+ points in Thursday’s 68-66 loss at UC Davis. | Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

Last-second shot too strong as Hawai’i falls late at UC Davis

BY PAUL BRECHT | HONOLULU
PUBLISHED JANUARY 23, 2025

Just too much. 

The University of Hawai’i men’s basketball team dropped a heartbreaker on Thursday, seeing two tries from inside the paint roll off the rim too strong in the final seconds as the Rainbow Warriors fell at UC Davis, 68-66. Aggies guard TY Johnson, the Big West’s leading scorer (21.3 PPG), finished with a game-best 23 points and the game-winning jumper with 33 seconds left in regulation as UCD kept pace with the top of the crop in the conference. 

Harry Rouhliadeff led the effort for Hawai’i, coming off the bench to score a career-high 21 points (17 in 2nd half) as the Rainbow Warriors fell on the road to the Aggies for the fifth straight time. Tanner Christensen finished with 11 points and eight rebounds, the sixth time he has recorded 10+ points in the last seven games, but was unable to connect on a putback just in front of the rim that would have tied the game as time ran out in regulation. 

UC Davis (12-8, 6-3 Big West) started out hot in an otherwise unspectacular offensive half, making five straight shots to open the action as the hosts took an 11-7 lead by the first media timeout. The defense of the Aggies suffocated UH ball handlers throughout the opening minutes, seeing multiple late shot clock heaves from the Rainbow Warriors as the offense failed to find any type of rhythm. 

Senior guard Ryan Rapp finally hit on one of the heaves with just over 10 minutes left in the first half, draining his only 3-pointer of the evening to pull Hawai’i (12-7, 4-4 Big West) within two. After Niko Ročak’s putback on the next possession, both teams traded empty chances until Rapp snapped a 5-minute scoring drought with an and-one finish and Akira Jacobs split a trip to the line and tie the game at 18 with 4:47 remaining before halftime.  

After nearly an entire half of offensive ineptitude from both sides, the Rainbow Warriors and Aggies traded tough baskets as the time wound down before the break as Aaron Hunkin-Claytor banked in another end-of-shot-clock prayer from UH. UC Davis guard Leo Debruhl gave the hosts a slim two-point advantage at halftime as he muscled in a layup just before the buzzer, ending a half that saw the teams go a combined 19-of-64 from the field. 

The Aggies came out of the break with a fury, scoring eight of the first 10 points in the second half before UH forward Harry Rouhliadeff caught fire and rattled off a personal 8-0 run to knot the game at 40 with just over 14 minutes left in regulation. Kody Williams (2-13 FG) drilled his second and final three of the game a minute later, giving Hawai’i the lead for the first time since the opening minute of the contest, 43-40. 

Some more Rouhliadeff finesse and finishing helped Hawai’i offset TY Johnson and the UC Davis offense that continued to find success after halftime for a while, but Pablo Tamba tied the game at 53 with an and-one layup with 6:56 to play and put the Rainbow Warriors on the back heel once again. 

The Aggies raced back ahead behind a 7-2 run, taking a 60-55 lead with 4:35 remaining after Connor Sevilla drained his third 3-pointer of the night. Hawai’i’s rally efforts got a jumpstart on the next possession, seeing Niko Ročak pick up his fourth and fifth fouls in five seconds of real time as the forward was whistled for contact against Marcus Greene and slammed the ball into the court after the call, receiving a technical foul. 

The Rainbow Warriors went 3-of-4 from the line, cutting the UC Davis lead down to two with four minutes to play as the program’s first win while visiting the Aggies since 2021 was within reach. 

But then it was TY Johnson time. 

The conference’s top scorer this year showed off his shooting prowess, scoring the final eight points for UC Davis to help secure the Aggies’ fourth win in five Big West home games this season. The guard hit multiple pull-up jumpers from the mid-range, including one to give the Aggies the lead for good with 33 seconds left right after Tanner Christensen split a pair of free throws to give Hawai’i a one-point lead. 

After Johnson split a pair of free throws himself with seven seconds left, the Rainbow Warriors called for timeout with one last chance to tie or take the lead. Marcus Greene got the ball into the frontcourt, worked his way to the cup and got a shot off over a couple UC Davis defenders to try to tie. 

Christensen corralled the miss as it caromed off the rim and quickly tried to put it back as time expired, but the attempt went too strong off the backboard as Hawai’i fell in the final seconds for the second loss in the last three games. 

Pablo Tamba racked up a career-best 19 points to go along with five rebounds in the victory for UC Davis while Connor Sevilla chipped in 11 points (3-of-5 3PT) as three Aggies finished in double digits. 

Hawai’i leading scorer Gytis Nemeikša tallied four points and grabbed five rebounds in 17 minutes of work, playing only three minutes after halftime. Kody Williams and Ryan Rapp each added 10 points and had blocks in the loss for the Rainbow Warriors. 

Saturday concludes one of the most challenging road trips of the season for the Rainbow Warriors as they travel to take on Big West-leading UC Irvine. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. HT as both programs look to bounce back from close, late-moment losses on the road. 

Huge home stand sweep revives Hawai’i men’s basketball’s season

Huge home stand sweep revives Hawai’i men’s basketball’s season

Feb 10, 2024

Huge home stand sweep revives Hawai’i men’s basketball’s season

BY PAUL BRECHT | HONOLULU
PUBLISHED FEB 10, 2024

HONOLULU — How about that? 

The University of Hawai’i men’s basketball team downed UC Davis (15-9, 10-3 Big West) on Saturday night, 87-70, to pick up the team’s fourth win in the last five games behind double-doubles from Bernardo de Silva and Justin McKoy and another Noel Coleman masterpiece. 

“Really proud of this team for tonight and this week, and really, leading up to this week,” Hawai’i head coach Eran Ganot expressed postgame. “That was a heckuva team we just played, and we’ve talked about trying to put it together in all three phases… in the context of Thursday, in the context of today, [I] couldn’t be prouder.” 

Hawai’i (14-11, 6-7 Big West) spent the first half of the game unconscious from the field, making 15 out of 21 attempts from the floor including an unfathomable 9-of-11 from distance in the opening half as the ‘Bows worked the lead to double-digits at the break, 45-35. Everyone got in on the fun for UH as the bench poured in 12 points over the opening 20 minutes as freshmen Tom Beattie and Akira Jacobs went a combined 3-of-3 from long range in the period and reserve guard Kody Williams handed out three dimes. 

“We’ve said we’re a good shooting team [so] it was nice to see some breakthroughs,” Ganot said of his team’s scorching shooting performance. “This doesn’t just happen tonight. They’ve been shooting well in practice, shot it well the other night…we’ve still got a long road but hopefully we can build off of this.” 

While the ‘Bows offense cooled off a bit after halftime, the defense turned up the heat as Hawai’i held UC Davis to 8-of-31 shooting from the floor after halftime and a pitiful 2-of-13 from long range on a rare cold night for star backcourt duo Elijah Pepper and Ty Johnson. The Aggies’ backcourt was held to a combined 5-of-19 from the floor in the second half as the Rainbow Warriors dominated the glass for the second straight game. 

“You aren’t going to [completely] hold those guys down, they’re too good. Making them work for everything, making them work on the defensive end and [have the right matchups] … Give our guys credit for really working their tails off,” Ganot said of his team’s second half defensive chops.  

UC Davis was led by Pepper’s 27 points on 25 shots as the guard played nearly 36 minutes of the 40-minute contest. Backcourt duo Ty Johnson ended the night with 15 points and six rebounds in the loss. 

Hawai’i got double-digit performances from four different players as Justin McKoy and Bernardo de Silva recorded double-doubles with 17 points, 11 rebounds and 19 points and 12 rebounds respectively. Noel Coleman, who has been under the weather as of late, poured in another 18 points on an efficient 7-of-12 shooting before fouling out late while freshman Tom Beattie added 11 points off the pine for the ‘Bows. 

“Having been around [Noel] for a long time, it’s been fun to watch him grow and develop and he’s had great moments,” Ganot said of his starting shooting guard. “I said the other day [against UC San Diego] I thought it was his best game in a Rainbow Warrior uniform because you put it all in context… sometimes it takes so much out of you on the offensive end but he’s able to do it offensively, defensively against the best teams and the best schools. [That context]’s why I think you could argue it was his best week in this uniform.” 

After back-to-back wins against the Big West’s 2nd-place program, Hawai’i has suddenly catapulted itself back into the Big West’s top-4 conversation (also thanks in part to UC San Diego’s Division I reclassification period running through this season) as UH sits a game behind CSUN for the fourth seed in the Big West Conference tournament. The ‘Bows now hit the road for a two-game trip against a Cal Poly team that has begun to solve some things as of late and UC Santa Barbara, the program currently tied with Hawai’i on the conference ladder.