No. 10 North Carolina proves too much for Hawaii men’s basketball team

HONOLULU — Tanner Christensen pump faked, drove around his defender, took two steps and tried to throw down a Statue of Liberty dunk on No. 10 North Carolina.

Seth Trimble went up high to meet the Hawaii big man at the rim, and the clash on the show-and-go merely elicited a collective, “aww.”

The tone was set. The ‘Bows were not intimidated in their own building, but neither were the storied Tar Heels, who pulled away for an 87-69 victory over the Rainbow Warriors in a nationally televised contest on Friday night.

UH (4-1) took its first loss of the season.

UNC’s lithe guard trio of RJ Davis (18 points), Elliot Cadeau (17) and Trimble (13) were too much as UNC (3-1) now heads over to the Valley Isle for the Maui Invitational.

Gytis Nemeiksa came off the bench to lead UH with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Christensen attained a double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds) as well.

Christensen posted his way into a big-body dunk in the first minute of the second half to make it a five-point game, but UH could not parlay the play into serious momentum.

With many fans waving “Free Craig” signs in support of recently fired Athletic Director Craig Angelos among the season-high “white-out” crowd of 8,377 (8,948 tickets issued), Angelos took in the action from the front row behind the UH bench.

UH sported floral print green jerseys that evoked the Rainbow Warriors’ lauded Fabulous Five era. In one aspect, the ‘Bows embodied the spirit of Fab Fiver Bob Nash, the UH rebounding record-holder. The ‘Bows won the boards 40-27, and grabbed 15 on the offensive end.

But UNC committed just five turnovers to UH’s 13, and shot 51.9% from the field to UH’s 38.6%.

Akira Jacobs came off the bench and gave UH a spark when it was languishing. He hit two 3s and scored twice on flashes to the post for a quick 10 points. He finished with 13.

His teammates picked up on it and attacked the cup.

Only late-clock 3-pointers by Davis and Ian Jackson on UNC’s last two possessions of the half kept the Heels ahead 41-34 at intermission.

In the second half especially, UNC’s guards, led by the All-American, Davis, probed the lane and set up opportunities for the Heels’ bigs. They outscored UH 26-6 in the paint in the second half.

Nemeiksa hit two 3s in the first 10 minutes of the second half, followed by a splash from Jacobs, to prevent UNC from totally running away.

But UH also missed on several chances to land a hit to really make it a game down the stretch.

Ryan Rapp was assessed a flagrant 1 foul defending the post with 5:19 left and UNC turned the extended possession into four points.

UH takes on Division II crosstown neighbor Hawaii Pacific on Tuesday.

Note: This story will be updated.

Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.