The University of Hawaii men’s basketball team left for its first conference road trip with a shiny 13-2 record, but it didn’t leave at full strength.
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported point guard Roderick Bobbitt was finally cleared to play Wednesday and was set to joined the team for Thursday’s game at UC Riverside, though it was unclear if the senior would start after missing two days of practice.
The Rainbow Warriors also could be without the services of leading scorer Aaron Valdes (toe) as they seek to match their best start to a season since 2001-2002. After winning their first two Big West games at home, Hawaii faces the Highlanders (9-9, 0-2 Big West) before taking on Cal State Fullerton (9-7, 1-1) on Saturday.
If either Bobbitt or Valdez – or both – miss time, that will put more of an scoring burden on Stefan Jankovic, who’s averaging 14.8 points per game. Reserve guard Isaac Fleming also averages in double-figures, and he’s coming off a 22-point effort, a career high, last Saturday in victory against UC Santa Barbara.
This will be only UH’s second road game. It lost 82-74 to Texas Tech back on Nov. 28.
Wahine in action
The UH women welcome struggling Cal State Northridge to Honolulu for a 7 p.m. game Thursday on OCSports.
The Rainbow Wahine (8-7, 1-1) split their first two league games on the road as senior Ashleigh Karaitiana became the 19th player in program history to score 1,000 points.
The Matadors (2-13, 0-1) beat Hawaii in the Big West championship game last season to reach the NCAA tournament, but they are trying to replace all five of their starters.
On Saturday, UH hosts Riverside (9-7, 2-0) in a 7 p.m. tipoff on OCSports.
The Wahine’s strength this season has been on the boards. UH leads the Big West in offensive rebounds and rebounding margin and its third in defensive rebounds.
Men up to serve
Ranked No. 5 in the nation and sporting a 3-0 record after taking the Outrigger Resorts Invitational title, the UH men’s volleyball team opens Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play with matches Friday and Saturday at No. 12 Pepperdine.
Stijn van Tilburg averaged 5.22 kills per set and hit .519 in UH’s first three games – the marquee win came against then-No. 8 Lewis – to earn co-national freshman of the week honors.
