Box Score UNO-Hawaii Box Score
HONOLULU – The University of New Orleans kept close for the first 26 minutes of the game before Hawaii finally pulled away in an 82-58 victory at the Stan Sheriff Center late Tuesday night.
The game looked as it may get away from UNO (15-12) early with UH (15-10) jumping out to a 20-point lead at 24-4 with 12:35 to go in the opening half. The resilient Privateers embarked on a 21-6 run to cut the deficit down to just five points.
Brandon Knight scored nine of his 15 points during the march that was capped by a pair of
Antonio Wertz free throws with 5:28 remaining before the intermission.
The rally surprised the Warriors, who went 3 of 8 with four turnovers during the stretch as UNO reversed its early woes and only carried a nine-point deficit into the half, trailing 39-30.
UH came out after the break and built its lead to 45-34 before four minutes had passed.
The Privateers would make one final run behind the efforts of
Brandon Canady, who single-handedly scored six in a row. The spurt cut the lead down to five at 45-40 with 15:50 while bolstering Canady to a 16-point effort for the game.
The five-point deficit was as close as the Privateers would get as the Warriors went on an 11-2 run that took the wind out of UNO's sails.
Vander Joaquim scored 11 of his game-high 19 points in the second half as UH outscored the Privateers 43-28 after the break to complete the victory. Other top contributors for the Warriors were Joston Thomas and Shaquille Stokes with 16 and 11 points, respectively.
UNO was expected to leave Hawaii early Wednesday and will return to the Crescent City ahead of a Saturday visit to The Castle to play Southern-New Orleans. The contest is scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. start and will be broadcast on WGSO 990 AM.
