By KALANI TAKASE
By KALANI TAKASE
Associated Press
HONOLULU — Isaac Fotu scored 17 points as Hawaii beat Oregon State 79-73 in the fifth place game of the Diamond Head Classic Wednesday.
Garrett Nevels had 16, Christian Standhardinger 15 and Brandon Spearman added 14 for the Rainbow Warriors (9-3). Spearman also grabbed 10 rebounds and Keith Shamburger chipped in with nine points, 10 assists and six rebounds.
“The last two games the guy (Shamburger) has 16 (assists) and one (turnover). That’s unbelievable,” Hawaii coach Gib Arnold said of his point guard. “I even wanted him to shoot it a little more. He’s really getting everybody involved and taking it upon himself to get everyone involved.”
Hawaii, which led by as many as 19 points in the second half, shot 58.3 percent (7 of 12) on 3-pointers but just 55.2 percent (16 of 29) from the free throw line.
Roberto Nelson scored 22, Devon Collier added 13, 10 rebounds and Challe Barton made three of his team’s six 3-pointers to finish with 13 points for the Beavers (7-4).
Hawaii has now won seven of its last eight games.
“We beat two very good teams, we got beat by a team by one at the buzzer,” Arnold said. “I think we could’ve won this (tournament). The guys are upset because we couldn’t win it. We play good basketball at this time of the year.”
A 12-0 second-half run by Hawaii began with Fotu’s layup with 12:25 on the clock and concluded with his easy basket off an inbounds pass to make it 65-46 with 8:05 remaining.
Oregon State answered by scoring 16 of the next 20 points, but couldn’t cut the Hawaii lead to less than six points the rest of the way.
“We just started playing harder and we executed our offense, which we stopped doing and we stopped feeling sorry for ourselves,” Oregon State coach Craig Robinson said. “They (Hawaii) made a couple of shots and couple plays and we were feeling sorry for ourselves. You can’t beat a good team if you do that.”
The Rainbow Warriors played at a frantic pace in the first half, racing up and down the court after an early 5-0 deficit. They took the lead on a 3-pointer by Spearman, but the Beavers tied it at 26 on Roberto Nelson’s turnaround jumper at the 6:42 mark in the first half.
Hawaii responded with a 14-4 run that was capped by a Standhardinger bucket to give them a 40-30 lead.
“We tried to speed them up by playing our style of play,” Spearman said. “It came out well. We ended up getting quick shots and beating folks in the paint.”
The Beavers (7-4) shot 44.1 percent (26 of 59) from the field and made 15 of 16 from the free throw line. Oregon State committed 17 turnovers — which led to 22 Hawaii points — to just 12 assists. Hawaii had 18 assists against nine turnovers.
Nevels scored 10 points in the first half and Standhardinger netted all of his points before halftime.
It was the first time the teams have played since 2006 when Hawaii won 85-41 in Honolulu. The Beavers lead the all-time series 21-8.
Championship
Iowa State 70 Boise Stae 66
DeAndre Kane scored 23 points and No. 14 Iowa State overcame its worst half of the season to beat Boise State 70-66 on Wednesday night in the Diamond Head Classic championship game.
Kane hit a 3-pointer with less than 2 minutes left to help seal the win for the Cyclones (11-0). Boise State’s Derrick Marks had a chance to tie with less than 30 seconds left, but missed a 15-foot jumper.
Melvin Ejim had 15 points and 10 rebounds.
The win gives Iowa State its best start to a season in school history. It started with 10 straight wins in the 1996-1997 season en route to a final 16 appearance in the NCAA tournament.
Derrick Marks had 23 points for Boise State (10-3).
Kane earned tournament MVP honors for his three-game performance, with his biggest moments coming Wednesday.
Kane put Iowa State within a point about 6 minutes into the second half. Kane took two dribbles with his right hand near the top of the key, then hit a jumper and was fouled. He missed a free throw to tie, but Ejim pulled down the rebound and hit a layup to give the Cyclones their first lead of the game.
Marks later tied it at 60 with a jumper and a 3-pointer on consecutive possessions, but Iowa State responded with two free throws and a straightaway 3-pointer by Kane with less than 2 minutes left.
Kane, Ejim and Georges Niang were selected to the tournament’s all-tournament team, winning trophies etched in paddles for canoes or paddle surfing. Anthony Drmic made the all-tournament team for Boise State while Hawai’s Brandon Spearman rounded out the squad.
Third Place
South Carolina 69
Akron 59
Duane Notice scored 15 points as South Carolina defeated Akron 69-59 in the third-place game of the Diamond Head Classic.
Sindarius Thornwell, Brenton Williams scored 12 points apiece and Michael Carrera, Tyrone Johnson each added 10 points off the bench for South Carolina (4-6). It was a season high for the freshman Notice.
Demetrius Treadwell scored 12 points and Quincy Diggs had 10 for Akron (6-4).
The Zips held a 31-25 lead at the break, but were outscored 12-5 in the first 5 minutes after halftime.
The Gamecocks took over midway through the second half. Notice’s basket started a 14-3 run as South Carolina rallied to take a 53-45 lead with 7:20 remaining.
A 3-pointer by Jake Kretzer and a three-point play by Treadwell helped Akron close to 59-56 with 4 minutes remaining. But Notice scored on the next play and then his steal and layup put the Gamecocks ahead 63-56 with 3:19 left. South Carolina then stole the ball on consecutive Akron possessions to seal the win.
Notice, who entered the tournament averaging just four points per game, had three-straight double-digit scoring performances in the tournament. He scored 11 in Sunday’s win over Saint Mary’s and had 13 in Monday’s loss to Boise State. Both were his season highs at the time.
Notice was 7 of 12 from the field as the Gamecocks shot 41.7 percent for the game and made 81 percent of their 21 free throw attempts. South Carolina held the Zips to 22-of-58 shooting, including 5 of 17 from 3-point range.
The teams will face each other again on Saturday in South Carolina.