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Hawaiʻi men's basketball falls to #10 North Carolina

Multiple scoring droughts doom Hawaiʻi men's basketball

It is back to the drawing board.

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.

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.

R.J. Davis led a four-pack of double-digit scoring Tar Heels with 18 himself.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Despite a layup made by Tom Beattie with 37 seconds left, UH still found themselves down, 41-34, at halftime.

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.

UH could only trim the gap to 12, but they never got closer for the rest of the way.

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.

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