Rainbow Classic Basketball: Hawaii vs. Pacific

The ‘Bows use a 14-2 run to surge past Pacific for a 72-67 victory in tonight’s Outrigger Resorts Rainbow Classic.

Trailing 62-60, Eddie Stansberry hit a 3 while falling to the court, and then hit the ensuing free throw to complete the four-point play.

It was tied at 64, when Drew Buggs drove the lane and fed Zigmars Raimo for the layup.

Later, Pacific’s Jeremiah Bailey hit a 3 to cut the deficit to 68-67. The Tigers then called a timeout they didn’t have — leading to a technical foul. Four free throws later, the ‘Bows secured their second victory of the season.

Here was the hustle play by Drew Buggs that turned the tide for good. #HawaiiMBB pic.twitter.com/f61wRODyyY

— Hawaii Warrior World (@hawaiiwworld) November 12, 2019

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The ‘Bows are rallying back, closing to 56-54 with six minutes to play.

Mate Colina’s putback made it 56-52.

On the other end, Eddie Stansberry blocked Jahlil Tripp to force a turnover. Drew Buggs got the ball on the right swing, pirouetted and, with nobody to pass to, hit a fadeaway jumper.

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The Tigers scored 16 of the first 23 points of the second half to take a 49-42 lead with 11:49 to play.

The ‘Bows actually lost a point when a review showed Eddie Stansberry’s apparent 3 was really just a two-point basket.

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The ‘Bows lead 35-33 after a wild first half.

The ‘Bows trailed 31-28 with 2:21 to play before finishing the half with a 7-2 run.

Drew Buggs, who missed his first seven shots, fueled the late surge with layup off a power move, and then two free throws.

Justin Hemlsey had an interesting stat line: seven first-half points and two fouls in 5:34 of court time.

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The ‘Bows are clinging to a 22-20 lead with 5:56 left in the first half despite point guard Drew Buggs’ offensive struggles. He’s zero of seven, including zip of five from behind the 3-point stripe.

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The ‘Bows take a 15-9 lead thanks to their backcourt play.

Eddie Stansberry got three points the hard way; he was fouled on a 3-point attempt, and then sank all three free throws.

Kameron Ng then bounced a pass to Justin Hemsley in the low post for a reverse layup.

Soon after, Stansberry drove the lane and fed Ng, who swished a 3 from the left corner.

* * * * *

The ‘Bows missed their first six shots before Eddie Stansberry, picking up where he left off last night, swished a 3 from the top of the key. It’s 5-all at the first media timeout.

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Hawaii and Pacific face off in tonight’s final game of the 2019 Outrigger Resorts Rainbow Classic.

Former NBA guard Damon Stoudamire is the Tigers’ head coach. The Tigers feature four Division I transfers, led by point guard Justin Moore (Georgia Tech).

It appears the ‘Bows will be without freshman guard Justin Webster for the third game in a row.