On Wednesday, the Oakland Golden Grizzlies men’s basketball team fell to the Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors in the third-place Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic game in overtime 73-70 from SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
The loss comes after Oakland split its initial two tournament games. The Golden Grizzlies defeated Loyola Chicago with a buzzer-beater from Isiah Jones in their first game before losing to the Oregon State Beavers in a tight overtime.
Malcolm Christie led Oakland in scoring, scoring 27 points on 33.3% shooting while contributing four rebounds. Buru Naivalurua led the team with eight boards off the glass while chipping in 13 points.
Christie’s emergence recently has been a huge boost for an Oakland team that has struggled to find consistency from three all season. In Christie’s last five games, he has averaged 19.8 points on a 39.7% clip from the field while shooting 37.1% from beyond the arc.
For the Rainbow Warriors, Gytis Nemeiksa posted a double-double with 25 points and 11 rebounds. Harry Rouhliadeff and Ryan Rapp joined Nemeiksa in the double-digit club, posting 15 points and 12 points, respectively.
In the first half, nearly all of Oakland’s scoring came from within the paint, with Christie scoring the Golden Grizzlies’ first bucket four minutes into the game. As the first continued, Oakland and Hawai’i struggled to score from deep, leading to a scrappy back-and-forth game with both teams attacking the paint.
With four minutes to go in the first, a layup from Rapp kickstarted an 11-0 run for Hawai’i as Oakland couldn’t buy a bucket. However, on Oakland’s final possession of the half, Jones knocked down a jumper in the paint to end the run as the Golden Grizzlies entered the half down 32-25.
To start the second half, Oakland responded to Hawai’i with a run of their own, scoring nine straight points, highlighted by a Christie four-point play, while holding the Rainbow Warriors scoreless in the first five minutes of the second.
The rest of the second was filled with runs from both teams, culminating in a tie game at 60-60 with a minute to go. Naivalurua tried to will the Golden Grizzlies to a win in the final seconds, but the Rainbow Warriors had a response every time, leading to overtime with the game tied 64-64.
Hawai’i opened the overtime period with a three from Rapp before Naivalurua tied the game after sinking three free throws over the next two Oakland possessions. Nemeiksa nailed a triple on Hawai’i’s next possession before Christie responded with a three of his own.
With the score tied at 70 points apiece, the Rainbow Warriors took their lead back with a layup from Rouhliadeff. Jaylen Jones attempted to tie the game with a layup but missed, as Hawai’i put the game on ice with a free throw from Marcus Greene while denying Oakland on defense.
From the box score, two key things stick out in this loss. Oakland was outrebounded 44-34, which isn’t too shocking, as the Rainbow Warriors had the height advantage over the Golden Grizzlies.
However, the number of free throws Hawai’i drew and their accuracy from the line were a massive hindrance for Oakland. The Rainbow Warriors made 22 of their 29 attempts from the charity stripe, unlike the Golden Grizzlies, who only had 16 free throw attempts all game.
Next, the Golden Grizzlies will visit the Arkansas Razorbacks at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on Monday, Dec. 30. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m., and the game will be nationally televised on ESPN 2.
The game marks the first time Oakland head coach Greg Kampe and Arkansas head coach John Calipari will meet since Oakland eliminated Calipari and the Kentucky Wildcats in the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament back in March.