HONOLULU — Justus Jackson drove and leaned into his man, scooping a shot that arced over the larger Eastern Washington defender’s reach, caromed high off the glass and dropped through the net.

The degree of difficulty was considerable, but it also was clearly a shot the 6-foot-1 guard had practiced.

Jackson, a Hawaii basketball sophomore, played his second straight effective game off the bench to begin the 2022-23 season, helping to alleviate the absence of injured would-be starter Juan Munoz. Jackson was a key ingredient as the Rainbow Warriors beat EWU of the Big Sky, 71-51 in front of 2,589 at SimpliFi Arena on Sunday night.


What You Need To Know

  • The Hawaii basketball team defeated Eastern Washington 71-51 on Sunday night at SimpliFi Arena to set up a true championship game in the round-robin Outrigger Rainbow Classic against Yale at 7 p.m. Monday

  • The Rainbow Warriors got 17 points, a career-high-tying nine rebounds and two blocks from forward Kamaka Hepa, 15 points from shooting guard Noel Coleman and 14 from center Bernardo da Silva in the win over the Eagles

  • Sophomore Justus Jackson played 18 minutes at point guard off the bench, including down the stretch, in relief of starter JoVon McClanahan and responded with his best performance to date of seven points, two assists, a steal and no turnovers

  • Jackson arrived at mid-season last year as an emergency pickup out of a prep school once Juan Munoz got hurt in the preseason and played sparingly

The Rainbow Warriors have survived some lulls to be 2-0 heading into Monday’s 7 p.m. contest against Yale (3-0) for the Outrigger Rainbow Classic tournament title.

“Winning this whole Outrigger tournament, that’d be huge for us going into the season,” Jackson said after supplying personal bests of seven points and two assists against EWU (0-3). “That’s the goal, and that’s the plan.”

Jackson, a Surprise, Ariz., native who played spot minutes in 2021-22 as a mid-season pickup from DME Academy in Melbourne, Fla., has emerged as a steady hand, especially in second halves when the game has been in the balance.

In the opener Friday against Mississippi Valley State, he spelled struggling third-year UH guard JoVon McClanahan and hit a key 3-pointer off the dribble to trigger a game-breaking 11-0 run.

On Sunday, Jackson was at the controls even longer down the stretch and finished shooting 3-for-4 shooting, a steal and no turnovers in 18 minutes.

“He earned it,” UH coach Ganot said of Jackson’s role in crunch time. “I think most of the guys in the locker room weren’t surprised by it, the confidence, the swag. He’s still a young guy. … He needs to go through these games.”

Ganot did not say if he’s considered making the assignment permanent. Jackson has certainly submitted an argument for it; his plus/minus rating has been plus-15 in both games so far.

While the veteran McClanahan has taken good care of the ball, with seven assists and one turnover through the two games, he’s had trouble finding his own shot and is 1-for-7 from the field.

McClanahan and Jackson are actually roommates.

“We don’t really feel like we’re competing at all, we’ve all got the same goal, we want to see how far basketball can take us,” Jackson said. “At the end of the day, we just want to win a Big West championship, so it’s nice to have guys around you who just want to see you get better.”

Munoz, the team's would-be starter, has been a “big brother” figure who's frequently been in his ear, Jackson said, as have the UH coaches before he goes into a game. Once in, he sees it as his job to prevent any drop-off in energy.

Last season, Jackson was the break-glass-in-case-of-emergency guard. He came in at semester break in December and was well behind the curve, learning the team’s schemes on the fly. He appeared sparingly in 10 games, looking the part of someone who just got thrown into the mix against grown men after going against 18-year-olds.

The offseason was his time to catch up.

“Last year for me was a blessing in disguise, as far as coming here midway through the year,” Jackson said. “I didn’t really have a lot of time to pick up the offense and some of the rules and all that stuff. But having the spring and summer leading up to this season was kind of big for me. It allowed me to get a better feel for the team, better feel for the offense and whatnot.”

Ganot has been pleased with his progress shooting the ball. Jackson hit a 3 in both outings so far after connecting on just one all last year.

 

Justus Jackson tried to break down his defender off the dribble in front of the Hawaii bench. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)

His best asset, though, remains his speed. The son of former NFL wide receiver and current Jacksonville Jaguars assistant coach Chris Jackson grew up using his quickness to his advantage “since I was a youngin',” he said.

Senior forward Kamaka Hepa vouched for him after facing EWU — an opponent that featured wing-size players, 6-5 or 6-6, at every position. He said Jackson has come the furthest in the shortest time.

“I think Justus Jackson is taking steps in the right direction and the rest of this year he’s going to continue to grow probably more than anyone on this team,” Hepa, who struggled in the opener, said after a turnaround game of 17 points, nine rebounds and two blocks. “He’s a very talented basketball player, and I think once he continues to get more game experience, college experience, his game’s going to continue to expand.”

Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii.