Ole Miss Upends Hawaii on Christmas Day, 81-66

Hawaii dropped the fifth-place game of the  Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic on Christmas Day to Ole Miss, 81-66, at the Stan Sheriff Center. Photo by UH Athletics.

By Rodney S. Yap

Ole Miss scored 10 unanswered points late in the game to pull away for a 81-66 win over Hawaii in the fifth-place game of the  Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic Christmas Day at the Stan Sheriff Center.

UH (6-5) lost despite a huge effort from senior center Vander Joaquin who finished with a career high 29 points and 15 rebounds. Joaquim, who scored 18 of his 29 points in the second half, posted his third double-double of the season. Jace Tavita finished with eight assists while Isaac Fotu (11) and Christian Standhardinger (10) each reached double figures in a losing effort.

No. 3 Arizona captured the tournament championship with a thrilling 68-67 win over No. 15 San Diego State.

Four Ole Miss players finished in double-digit scoring, led by Murphy Holloway’s 18 points. Nick Williams and Marshall Henderson each chipped in 16 points for the Rebels (10-2), who shot 60% in the second half and out-scored the Bows, 52-36.

UH got off to a miserable start in the first ever meeting between the teams, missing 16 of its first 20 shots and falling behind, 25-9, midway through the first half. But the Rainbow Warriors surged back, going on a 21-4 run in the final 7:48 to take a 30-29 lead at the break.

The teams went blow for blow for the better part of the second half with nine ties and 11 lead changes. After Fotu’s free throw tied it at 63 with 3:55 to play, the Rebels scored the next 10 points spurred by a pair of UH turnovers and two easy buckets by Williams.

For the third straight time in the tournament, UH won battle of the boards with a 41-32 advantage but shot only 2-of-16 from 3-point range.

No. 3 Arizona captured the tournament championship with a thrilling 68-67 win over No. 15 San Diego State.

UH now moves on to league play and will make its Big West debut with a home game versus Cal State Northridge on Saturday, Dec. 29. Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m. and will follow the women’s basketball game versus Cincinnati.

Dec. 25 Results

7th Place: San Francisco 67, East Tennessee State 47

5th Place: Ole Miss 81, Hawai’i 66

3rd Place: Indiana State 57, Miami 55 (OT)

Championship: Arizona 68, San Diego State 67

All-Tournament Team

Murphy Holloway, Ole Miss

Jake Odum, Indiana State

Chase Tapley, San Diego State

Mark Lyons, Arizona

MVP: Solomon Hill, Arizona