Coming off its best effort of the young season, UH-Hilo takes on what will almost assuredly be its best opponent of the entire season: UH-Manoa.
This one counts for the Rainbow Warriors (4-4), but it’s just an annual exhibition for the Vulcans (3-3), who will have a valuable chance to work on a defense that has been suspect at times against an opponent that threatens with length and athleticism.
The 7 p.m. game Saturday will be televised on Spectrum Sports.
The last time the Vuls were on Oahu, last weekend, they left shaking their heads after being shredded 114-101 by Chaminade, but UHH cleaned itself up and grounded out a win at home last Monday against Fresno Pacific.
“We were terrible on defense against Chaminade, and couldn’t get any shots to fall against Hawaii Pacific,” Vuls coach GE Coleman said in a release “Against Fresno Pacific we had our most complete game. We worked a ton on the defensive side in practice after Saturday night, and it paid off on Monday.”
The Vulcans have forced 114 turnovers in six games, a 19-per game a contest puts them 13th in NCAA Division II. Their turnover margin (4.50) leads the Pacific West Conference.
Behind guards Drew Buggs, Brocke Stepteau and Sheriff Drammeh, Hawaii will try to improve on its 0.4 turnover margin, but where the Rainbow Warriors really can make an impact Saturday is on the boards. UHH has been outrebounded in five of six contests.
The teams will meet for the seventh time in the past eight seasons, with Hawaii winning the previous six contests by an average of 25.0 points.
The Rainbow Warriors, who will play for the first time since an 80-61 loss at UCLA on Nov. 28, take on a Division II team for the second time this season, having defeated Humboldt State 90-54 on Nov. 10.
The Vuls feature a pair of former D-I players in leading scorer James Griffin (17.3 points) and Larry Bush (12.0), the team’s leading scorers.
