Hawai’i rolls Life Pacific in Rainbow Classic opener

HONOLULU – What preseason worries? 

The Hawai’i men’s basketball team began the 2024-25 season with a bang, dismantling Life Pacific, 96-61, behind sophomore forward Akira Jacobs’ career-high 20 points. The Rainbow Warriors saw a sweet shooting touch roll on throughout the night, holding the Warriors out of the NAIA at arms’ length behind 58 percent overall shooting from the floor and 10 3-point makes.

Concerns after back-to-back close exhibitions against Hawai’i-Hilo and Chaminade on neighbor islands came after fans saw UH turn the ball over more than 50 times in the two contests against Division 2 competition. Hawai’i (1-0) turned the ball over just five times on Friday night, forcing double that amount by Life Pacific. 

After LPU jumped out to an early 7-4 lead just 90 seconds into the game, Jacobs and UH junior Kody Williams powered the Rainbow Warriors in front with five combined 3-pointers that buoyed a 21-5 run over the next five minutes, giving Hawai’i a 25-12 lead going into the first media timeout of the night. Marcus Greene, Jerome Palm and Gytis Nemeikša continued the offensive barrage, checking in after the break and helping the UH lead grow to 27 by halftime.

Hawai’i’s first half defense was solid overall, holding Life Pacific to just 11 makes on 33 field goal attempts. The Rainbow Warriors dominated on the glass, outrebounding LPU 26-8 through the opening frame as new starting center Tanner Christensen snatched up six rebounds himself in 16 minutes of action. 

After the break, Life Pacific found more offensive success as the NAIA Warriors were able to trade baskets with the Rainbow Warriors for the first 10 minutes after halftime. 

UH found the defensive footing again following the under-8-minute media timeout, holding Life Pacific to seven points over the final 8:06 of regulation as the Rainbow Warriors saw many of the fresh faces added in the offseason produce in their first chance to play in front of the home crowd. The 96-point outburst marked the highest scoring output by a Hawai’i men’s basketball team since 2021’s season-opening win over Hawai’i-Hilo. 

Kody Williams also set a new career high with 14 points in the win, scoring 11 points (3-3 3PT) in the early going to provide Hawai’i breathing room against Life Pacific. Gytis Nemeikša, who transferred to UH from Xavier, chipped in 14 points and nine rebounds in 14 minutes of action off the bench in his first official game as a Rainbow Warrior. 

Both of Hawai’i’s offseason additions at center enjoyed strong debuts in front of Hawai’i fans as well, seeing Valparaiso transfer Jerome Palm score 10 points (5-5 FG) and snag five rebounds in a reserve role. Former Utah Tech center Tanner Christensen did a little bit of everything for Hawai’i in his 113th career college game and first start at UH, pouring in nine points, seven rebounds, three assists and a pair of blocks in 21 minutes. 

The loss to UH was the second of six games that Life Pacific faces a Division I opponent during the 2024-25 slate. The Warriors fell to LMU on November 4 and will face Pacific next before playing San Jose State, Pepperdine and Grand Canyon University before season’s end. 

(All six competitions count as exhibitions for the NAIA program while being tallied as a part of the Division I programs’ overall record.) 

The OUTRIGGER Rainbow Classic continues for Hawai’i with the first Division I competition of the season as they face San Jose State at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday. The Spartans lost earlier on Friday evening to the Pacific Tigers, 80-67.