’Bows bombard Coppin
Matt Gibson had waited long enough.
After more than two weeks spent recovering from a knee injury, the fiery Hawaii senior endured a few more minutes on the bench last night before making his season debut.
Once he got back into the flow, Gibson sparked the Rainbow Warriors to a 79-58 win over Coppin State last night at the Stan Sheriff Center.
The Rainbows hit a season-high nine 3-pointers and improved to 2-3 by beating the Eagles (3-4) for the second straight year before a crowd of 3,176.
Gibson, slated to start at point guard before spraining his left knee two days before the season opener, came off the bench last night as head coach Bob Nash stuck with the same starting lineup he used for the first four games.
Gibson checked in during the first media timeout -- at the 15:43 mark of the first half -- and finished the night with a game-high 18 points, four rebounds and six assists.
"I knew I just had to let the game come and not try to force too many things," Gibson said. "I did a couple times force things and made a couple passes that were not typical passes.
"It was good to get out there and Coach Nash let me make a few mistakes and get my rhythm back, and once I got the rhythm back it was OK after that."
UH's Putnam City (Okla.) High School connection powered the Rainbows as sophomore forward Bill Amis posted a career-high 16 points to complement Gibson's outing.
JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARBULLETIN.COM
Hawaii's Matt Gibson elevated for a shot over Coppin State's Robert Pressey during the first half last night at the Stan Sheriff Center. Gibson came back from a knee injury to score 18 points, leading the Rainbow Warriors to a 79-58 win.
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Guard Riley Luettgerodt contributed 17 points and seven boards, Jared Dillinger hit three 3-pointers in scoring 11 points and Bobby Nash finished with 10.
Bob Nash was also pleased with a defensive effort that limited Coppin State to 37 percent shooting and a rebounding effort that netted a 39-30 advantage on the boards.
"We've got a great rotation going now," Nash said. "We've got guys we can bring in. ... So we're not limited. We have 10 guys who all can play, so we can bring in guys and get positive production and I think tonight we got production from most people."
Hawaii, which defeated Coppin State 79-67 last season, led throughout the first half, taking a 40-32 advantage into the break.
Amis powered the Rainbows early, matching his season high with 10 points in the game's first 7 minutes.
"Shots were falling, the ball was coming my way and I tried to make the most out of it," said Amis. "We did need to try to go inside more after that New Mexico game.
"We came out right from the start and established the low post and that freed up a lot of open jumpers for the guards."
The lead reached double figures when Bobby Nash hit a 3-pointer 20 seconds into the second half.
Hawaii held Coppin State without a field goal for nearly the first 6 minutes of the half, building a 16-point lead when Gibson hit his second 3-pointer of the night to give the Rainbows a 51-35 cushion.
The lead swelled to 22 and the Rainbows cruised to their second win of the season.
Coppin State guard Tywain McKee scored 22 points in last year's meeting, but the Eagles' leading scorer didn't suit up last night due to a foot injury. Forward A'Daeron Duncan scored 15 points to lead the Eagles, who shot 7-for-26 in the second half.
"I'm not going to use any excuses, we just have to play harder than we played today," Coppin State coach Ron "Fang" Mitchell said. "You gotta give Hawaii credit for taking it to us. Coach Nash had them ready to play and you could see how hungry they were. ... We just have to be smarter as a basketball team."
The Rainbows leave Friday on their second road trip of the season and play at San Diego on Sunday afternoon. Their next home game is Dec. 9 against Long Beach State.
Hawaii 79, Coppin State 58
EAGLES (3-4)
|
fg |
fga |
ft |
fta |
min |
reb |
a |
tp
|
Duncan |
4 |
10 |
7 |
7 |
36 |
7 |
3 |
15
|
Conyers |
3 |
7 |
1 |
2 |
23 |
2 |
0 |
8
|
Pressey |
5 |
11 |
1 |
3 |
26 |
5 |
0 |
11
|
Goldsberry |
2 |
6 |
0 |
4 |
36 |
2 |
0 |
4
|
Iloegbu |
1 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
8 |
1 |
0 |
2
|
Britt |
2 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
10 |
2 |
0 |
7
|
Hargett |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Miller |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Hayden |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
17 |
5 |
0 |
0
|
Harrison |
2 |
4 |
3 |
5 |
20 |
3 |
2 |
7
|
Chesnut |
0 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
1
|
Kennedy |
1 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
15 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
|
TEAM |
|
|
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
Totals |
20 |
54 |
15 |
27 |
200 |
30 |
6 |
58 |
RAINBOW WARRIORS (2-3)
|
fg |
fga |
ft |
fta |
min |
reb |
a |
tp
|
Luettgerodt |
6 |
11 |
3 |
5 |
32 |
7 |
3 |
17
|
Amis |
5 |
9 |
6 |
6 |
19 |
6 |
1 |
16
|
Verwers |
2 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
21 |
6 |
2 |
5
|
Dillinger |
4 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
29 |
2 |
1 |
11
|
Nash |
3 |
12 |
2 |
3 |
37 |
7 |
4 |
10
|
Nitoto |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
0 |
1 |
2
|
Gibson |
5 |
11 |
6 |
6 |
26 |
4 |
6 |
18
|
Campbell |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
12 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Mayen |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
1 |
0 |
0
|
Owsley |
0 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
TEAM |
|
|
|
|
|
6
|
Totals |
26 |
56 |
18 |
23 |
200 |
39 |
18 |
79 |
Key -- fg: field goals made; fga: field goals attempted; ft: free throws made; fta: free throws attempted; min: minutes played; reb: rebounds; a: assists; tp: total points.
Halftime -- Hawaii 40, Coppin State 32
3-point goals -- CSU 3-5 (Conyers 1-1, Britt 1-1, Kennedy 1-2, Duncan 0-1), Hawaii 9-20 (Dillinger 3-5, Luettgerodt 2-4, Gibson 2-5, Nash 2-6). Personal fouls -- Coppin State 21, Hawaii 21.
Steals -- CSU 8 (Duncan 4, Goldsberry 3, Conyers), Hawaii 4 (Verwers, Dillinger, Nitoto, Gibson). Blocked shots -- CSU 5 (Duncan 2, Pressey 2, Conyers), Hawaii 6 (Amis 3, Verwers 2, Mayen). Turnovers -- CSU 15 (Goldsberry 4, Pressey 2, Iloegbu 2, Britt 2, Duncan, Conyers, Hayden, Harrison, Chesnut), Hawaii 15 (Gibson 5, Verwers 2, Nash 2, Mayen 2, Luettgerodt, Amis, Nitoto, Campbell).
Officials -- Bruce Hicks, Brian Sorenson, Bryan Barr. A-- 3,176.