Hawai’i stumbles as North Carolina speeds by in Maui Invitational tune up

HONOLULU – Can’t win them all. 

The University of Hawai’i men’s basketball team fell for the first time this season on Friday, seeing the nationally ranked University of North Carolina speed past the Rainbow Warriors, 87-69. The visiting Tar Heels were led by their dynamic starting backcourt, seeing Elliot Cadeau (17 points) and RJ Davis (18 points) shoot a combined 13-for-22 from the field while handing out four assists each in the win. 

“Tough game,” UH head coach Eran Ganot said following the loss. “Obviously, when we were good, we were good and when we were bad, we were really bad. Good teams take advantage of that.” 

It was the bench leading the way for UH, seeing Gytis Nemeikša post his second double-double of the year with a team-high 16 points and 10 rebounds off the pine for the Rainbow Warriors. Akira Jacobs returned to action after missing a game with a foot injury, pouring in 13 points off the bench while drilling three 3-pointers in the loss. 

Hawai’i (4-1) started slowly, hitting only one of the team’s first 10 shots (0-of-5 from 3-point range) as North Carolina raced out to a 13-2 lead over the opening six minutes. Akira Jacobs, who missed UH’s last game against Weber State with a foot injury, checked in for the first time following a media timeout and provided a spark off the bench with eight straight points to keep the Rainbow Warriors within striking distance, trailing 18-10 with 11:30 left to play in the first half. 

“[Akira] gave us a lift when we were down,” Ganot said of Jacobs’ first half minutes. “He’s a great kid who has great skill level at his size and he’s gotten better.” 

As the opening 20 minutes of action continued to tick down, each side traded baskets as Hawai’i’s Tanner Christensen helped secure extra chance after extra chance on the offensive glass to help UH offset the putrid shooting from long distance in the first half. The Rainbow Warriors would pull as close as three, 35-32, with just over a minute until halftime, but back-to-back threes by Davis and Ian Jackson helped the Tar Heels to a 6-2 run before the break to go into the locker room leading by seven. 

Christensen got the action started again with a powerful two-handed slam to open the second half, but again the Rainbow Warriors’ offense went cold to start the half. North Carolina rattled off the next 11 points, spurring a 19-4 run overall to open a 20-point lead over Hawai’i with 13:53 left in regulation. 

“Man, would like the first five minutes of each half back,” Ganot said after the team’s slow offensive start in each period. “Give [UNC] credit there, but I think more than anything that we weren’t getting good shots early because we weren’t making them work. We were playing catch and holding the ball and played against a set defense.” 

Gytis Nemeikša snapped a three-minute field goal drought for Hawai’i, drilling his first 3-pointer of the night with 13:33 left to play and knocking down another one a minute later to pull UH closer, 60-46. He added his third 3-pointer in less than three minutes two possessions later and a pair of free throws to keep the Rainbow Warriors within striking distance with 10:27 remaining. 

Cadeau settled things down for the Tar Heels, scoring eight points to bookend a 14-6 run by the visitors and push the lead back up to 20 with just over four minutes to play. Hawai’i’s last gasp push saw them pull with 14 with two minutes to go, but North Carolina quickly shut down UH’s comeback hopes as Cade Tyson drilled a triple for the last of his nine points with 1:56 left to help the Tar Heels to an 87-69 win. 

North Carolina got to the paint at will, scoring 44 of the 87 points in the lane as the speed of the guards was displayed all night. Behind Cadeau and Davis, Seth Trimble chipped in 13 points while Ian Jackson poured in 11 points off the bench for the Tar Heels. 

Hawai’i won the rebounding battle by 13 and had 15 offensive rebounds, but the Rainbow Warriors were only able to convert those into 14 second-chance points. UH also committed 13 turnovers in the loss that led to 17 extra points for North Carolina. 

“You saw the power of what they do when they get a miss or a turnover,” Ganot said. “They dominated us at the rim, versus what we were doing at the rim.” 

Tanner Christensen recorded his first double-double as a Rainbow Warrior in the loss, tallying 10 points and 10 rebounds in 26 minutes. Marcus Greene added 10 points and four assists off the bench for Hawai’i. 

“The character of our team is really good,” Ganot stated. “But obviously we have work to do and that’s a great challenge.” 

UH returns to action on Tuesday, hosting Hawai’i Pacific University out of Division II’s PacWest Conference. North Carolina will head over to Maui for the 2024 Maui Invitational presented by Novavax, preparing to face Dayton to close out the opening round of the tournament on Monday.