Gameday: at UC Riverside
UPDATE: Forward Mike Thomas is out at Riverside today with an unspecified injury he incurred at UC Irvine. Not counting redshirt year of 2016-17, first game he’s missed since the 2014-15 season.
How about that game on Thursday?
Hawaii’s improbable one-point win at UC Irvine, in which UH sank only three field goals the entire second half, came courtesy of strong defense, rebounding, ball control, and exceptional free-throw shooting. (And some beneficial calls down the stretch.)
Now the sixth-place Rainbow Warriors (14-10, 5-6 BWC) are out for some payback at UC Riverside, the team that stunned them 64-60 in Manoa last week and had everyone wondering what was up with UH.
The Highlanders (7-18, 2-9) are still in last place, but suddenly have a realistic shot at making the tournament if they can surpass either Cal State Northridge or Cal Poly. Had UH lost at Irvine, this game would’ve taken on even greater importance, but as it is UH still needs it to hit the stretch drive with something to feel good about.
UH is favored by three points for the 5:30 p.m. (HST) tipoff, televised on Fox Sports Prime Ticket. UH has won two straight at SRC Arena (the road team in this series has amazingly won the last five).
UCR has won two of its last three, including the first UH game. It is coming off a 69-62 win at CSUN on Wednesday, so Justin Bell’s Highlanders have had an extra day of rest and preparation. Oh, and they have Dikymbe Martin back from suspension and Alex Larsson back from an ankle injury. Both were out in the last matchup and both have given UH problems in the past. If their recent lineup holds, they will appear off the bench.
Chance Murray and Menno Dijkstra were the guys that hurt UH last time. Keep your eyes on them.
Be interesting to see if Eran Ganot goes back to the same lineup he started at UCI, which was UH’s fourth different one in the last five games. That time, Drew Buggs and Brocke Stepteau were joined by Leland Green in a three-guard lineup, with Sheriff Drammeh shifted to the bench.
Gibson Johnson had his best game in a while at UCI, even if he didn’t score in the second half. He came out like gangbusters, making six of his first seven shots for 13 in the first half. That was encouraging, as he looked very engaged and involved, breaking a recent trend of lackluster performances.
Side note from the UCI game: Jack Purchase picked up his third technical of the season, breaking a tie with Drammeh for the team lead.
Mike Thomas isn’t playing. Where is Mike? What happened??
Whew! Good road win in OT.
It was interesting to me to see how the UH underclassmen handled having to play without on-court support from either of their senior teammates. Besides Mike sitting out, Gib Johnson was on the bench almost the entire game with foul trouble. Shariff responded with the highest scoring output of his career, Drew was solid from start to finish and Jack made high pressure shots in overtime. Though nerve-racking to watch, I think tonight’s performance bodes well for next season.
Had no idea the game was on Prime Ticket.
Had no idea that Hawaiian Tel added Prime Ticket back to its roster of channels.
I got home, checked the BigWest TV archive and was disappointed to learn I wouldn’t be watching the game.
Cousin called.
Do I want to learn the final score from him, or see it for myself on the Hawaii Athletics website?
Me: “So what? Did they win?”
Cousin: “Yeah, in overtime.”
I want to know how Zigmars Raimo made his two field goals.
I really like Raimo and Ido Fleischer. I like that Coach Ganot plays them.
Hawaii has a bevy of limited centers in their history; I always wondered how, say, a Douglas Kurtz would have panned out if you just left him on the court, warts and all. Maybe he would have been game-ready once the conference season started.
2.
I appreciate having something to read.