HONOLULU — Heading into the Hawaii men’s basketball team’s 2024-25 season opener Friday night, much of the story for the 2024-25 Rainbow Warriors was about two things: turnover of the roster, and turnovers of the ball.
UH, which lost its top six scorers from March and committed a bevy of giveaways in two off-island preseason exhibitions, enjoyed a feel-good evening on both fronts as the ‘Bows routed Life Pacific of the NAIA, 96-61, in front of 2,138 (4,221 tickets issued) on Day 1 of the Outrigger Rainbow Classic at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Twelve ‘Bows saw action and 10 hit a field goal, and UH turned the ball over only five times.
“We have a lot of new guys. We have to go through the experience, good and bad,” 10th-year UH coach Eran Ganot said. “We’re challenging our guys to be the most improved team as the season progresses.”
Two returnees stepping into starting roles, forward Akira Jacobs and point guard Kody Williams, recorded career-high scoring outputs by halftime as UH hit eight 3-pointers and shot 64.5% in a 56-point first period.
Williams, a former walk-on from Minnetonka, Minn., who was awarded a scholarship in the preseason of his third year in Manoa, nailed all four of his 3-point attempts in the first half. He finished with 14 points, three assists and a turnover.
The junior said he felt nerves coming into the game, but also felt good with his shot in warmups.
“It was something that I wanted to work on coming into playing at the Division I level,” he said. “I figured I’d let it fly and saw the first one go through, so I kept putting them up.”
Afterward, he became the first recipient of the team’s “Mana” award — a maile lei. It will go to a player who “did the right things, showed strength, leadership,” Williams said in explanation.
Jacobs, a 6-foot-10 forward, appeared to be a more assertive version of himself coming off a summer playing for Japan in the 2024 Paris Olympics and a shift of position to the wing. He tallied 20 points on 6-for-10 shooting.
“A hundred percent,” Jacobs said if he feels more confident this year, “but I think that’s more being in the program for a year. … If I see a good shot, they want me to shoot it.”
Williams and Jacobs were joined in the starting lineup by two other returnees new to a spot in the first five, Tom Beattie and forward Harry Rouhliadeff. Utah Tech graduate transfer Tanner Christensen, a 6-foot-10 center, rounded out the lineup.
The ‘Bows committed just five turnovers after combining for 54 in narrow exhibition victories over Hawaii Hilo and Chaminade over the last two weeks.
“They didn’t pressure a lot, but five turnovers is stellar regardless,” Williams said. “Possession is a big thing for us.
“We’ve got to keep that going through these next (games),” he added. “Not to take anything away from Life Pacific, but we’re going to play a lot better defensive teams.”
UH will get a more like-size challenge against San Jose State (0-2) of the Mountain West at 5 p.m. Sunday. SJSU lost 80-67 to Pacific of the West Coast Conference in the leadoff game of the round-robin tournament.
Beattie scored 13 points Friday. Two Division I transfers, forward Gytis Nemeiksa (Xavier) and Jerome Palm (Valparaiso), did damage with their activity off the bench. Nemeiksa grabbed seven offensive rebounds among his nine boards and scored 14 points and Palm had a couple dunks among his 5-for-5 outing for 10 points.
It was UH’s first meeting with an NAIA opponent since a game against Hawaii Hilo in Dec. 6, 1990, before the Vulcans went to NCAA Division II.
The undersized and overmatched Warriors from San Dimas, Calif., fell behind by as many as 37 points in the second half before the teams emptied their benches.
LPU led 10-9 when Jacobs and Williams combined for four 3-pointers to ignite an 18-2 run and UH built its lead to 27 at halftime.
The visiting Warriors essentially battled UH evenly in the second half.
"Disappointed in our defense," Ganot said. "We have to be better at point of attack. They got some good looks. … We were able to overcome that with our offensive performance and our rebounding." UH was plus-23 on the glass and won second-chance points 23-0.
Guard Ryan Rapp, the only returning starter from UH’s 20-14 squad that reached the Big West semifinals, missed the game with a hand injury. He did not appear in either preseason exhibition.
Sophomore guard Osahon Obasohan of Belgium will sit out the first two games of the season “due to NCAA eligibility issues,” UH announced before the game.
It was the 15th win in the last 16 season openers for UH.
Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.