Hawaiʻi men's basketball falls to Nebraska Cornhuskers

It is back to the drawing board.

The University of Hawaiʻi Men's Basketball team got out to a good start against the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Monday only to come out the losers, 69-55, at the Stan Sheriff Center. This loss means UH will play for third place in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic for the second consecutive year.

Marcus Greene led UH with a mere 11 points. He was followed by 10 from Kody Williams and Akira Jacobs.

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For Nebraska, Brice Williams (32) and Jewan Gary (21) combined for 53 of Nebraska's 69 total points. The next closest was Braxton Meah with six.

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UH's Ryan Rapp drew first blood just 38 seconds in until Nebraska's Williams banked a triple to put themselves on the board. Both teams went back and forth until Greene hit a triple to put UH ahead by five.

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Hawaiʻi pulled out as much as an eight-point lead on two occasions, both on two Jacobs field goals (one triple). A Jacobs drive-in layup with 8:41 remaining was UH's last field goal until the closing stages.

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UH went without a field goal until a Harry Rouhliadeff layup with 40 seconds remaining ended a 7:59 scoring drought.  They would ultimately lose the lead off a Gary triple with 3:46 remaining, which was part of a 15-0 Nebraska run.

Then, Greene gave the Stan Sheriff Center crowd an early "Merry Christmas" with a buzzer-beating triple with two seconds left. UH, who fell behind by as many as seven, cut the gap down to two, 29-27, at halftime.

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Two Tanner Christensen free throws tied things at 29 early in the second half. UH would take the lead briefly off a Kody Williams layup, 31-29; unfortunately, that was very short-lived.

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Nebraska scored the next seven unanswered to retake the lead and ultimately never look back.

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UH kept trying, but they were ultimately done in by the pressure defense. As a result, UH committed an egregious 13 turnovers in the second half after only three in the first half.

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With 6:20 remaining, Jacobs banked another triple to put UH down six and give one last chance to seize the game from Nebraska; unfortunately, that was the closest UH would get.

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UH drops to 7-4 in 2024-25 with the loss. They will return to the Stan Sheriff Center on Christmas day at 1:30 p.m. HST against the Oakland Golden Grizzlies for third place in the 2024 Diamond Head Classic. You can watch the game on ESPN2 or listen on the radio on ESPN Honolulu.