Hawaiʻi men's basketball falls to #10 North Carolina
Multiple scoring droughts doom Hawaiʻi men's basketball
It is back to the drawing board.
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A crowd of 8,948 saw the University of Hawaiʻi Men's Basketball team fall to the #10 North Carolina Tar Heels, 87-69, at the Stan Sheriff Center on Friday.
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Gytis Nemeikša led the 'Bows with 16 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double performance. Akira Jacobs was next with 13 himself. Tanner Christensen also put in a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
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R.J. Davis led a four-pack of double-digit scoring Tar Heels with 18 himself.
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Neither team saw a field goal for the first two minutes, but North Carolina scored first via a Davis triple. North Carolina would lead the whole way and withstood every push UH put on them.
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UH took a bit to get going, but they did not lead for even three seconds. Christensen put UH on the board via a layup, but North Carolina scored the next 10 unanswered.
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UH found a rhythm via back-to-back Jacobs triples, but North Carolina answered every single time. UH trimmed the gap down to as little as three in the closing stages.
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With 1:17 remaining, it was 35-32, North Carolina. UH had a chance to tie the score, but Davis and Ian Jackson banked back-to-back triples to extend their gap to nine.
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Despite a layup made by Tom Beattie with 37 seconds left, UH still found themselves down, 41-34, at halftime.
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The second half started out just like the first with a Christensen slam dunk, but North Carolina scored the next 11 unanswered to ultimately pull away.
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UH could only trim the gap to 12, but they never got closer for the rest of the way.
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UH will return to the Stan Sheriff Center next Tuesday, Nov. 26 against the Hawaiʻi Pacific University Sharks. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. HST. You can watch the game on Spectrum Sports or listen to the game on ESPN Honolulu.