Zack Davidson leads Hawai‘i past UT Arlington as Rainbow Warriors remain unbeaten

HONOLULU — Zack Davidson scored 21 points and Bol Dengdit added 15 as Hawai‘i overcame a sluggish first half to defeat UT Arlington 71-62 on Sunday night in the 60th annual OUTRIGGER Rainbow Classic at Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.

The Rainbow Warriors (3-0) used a decisive 17-3 second-half run to pull away from the Mavericks (2-1), moving one victory away from their third consecutive Rainbow Classic championship and 18th tournament title in program history.

Davidson, who led Hawai‘i in scoring for the second straight game, shot 8 of 13 from the field and made five of six free throws. Dengdit connected on five of eight shots as both frontcourt players overcame early foul trouble to help the Rainbow Warriors remain undefeated.

Jaden Matingou provided a spark off the bench, scoring 10 of his 12 points in the second half, while Chance Trujillo contributed 12 points and a team-high four assists. Marcus Adams Jr. and Tanner Cuff each grabbed eight rebounds.

Hawai‘i struggled offensively in the opening half, shooting just 28.6% from the field, but found its rhythm after halftime, connecting on 48.4% of its shots to outscore UT Arlington 44-35 over the final 20 minutes.

The Rainbow Warriors appeared headed for a comfortable victory early, scoring 11 of the game's first 13 points and building a 19-6 lead on Adams' 3-pointer with 8:35 remaining in the first half.

UT Arlington endured a miserable offensive start, missing 13 of its first 14 shots and going nearly 10 minutes without a field goal. Mier Panoam finally ended the drought with a driving layup at the 7:36 mark, igniting a dramatic turnaround.

The Mavericks took advantage of a four-minute Hawai‘i scoring drought and used a 10-0 run to briefly move ahead late in the first half. UT Arlington made eight of its final 10 field-goal attempts before halftime, erasing the Rainbow Warriors' early advantage and sending the teams into the locker room tied at 27.

The Mavericks carried that momentum into the second half, taking their largest lead at 38-34 four minutes after the break. Hawai‘i responded behind Trujillo, whose jumper tied the game at 40 with 14:15 remaining.

After the teams battled to another tie at 45, Davidson took over.

The forward accounted for 10 points during a 17-3 Hawai‘i run that transformed a tight contest into a double-digit advantage. Matingou completed a three-point play to push the lead to 58-48 before capitalizing on an errant UT Arlington pass with a dunk that extended the margin to 62-48 with 4:24 remaining.

UT Arlington refused to go away, cutting the deficit to 64-58 with 1:23 left, but Hawai‘i converted seven of eight free throws down the stretch to secure the victory.

Tristan Hankins led the Mavericks with a game-high 23 points, including five 3-pointers, but Hawai‘i limited UT Arlington to 5-of-20 shooting from beyond the arc in the second half.

The victory extended Hawai‘i's Rainbow Classic winning streak to eight games dating to 2024 and continued a strong opening week for coach Eran Ganot's team, which has combined offensive firepower with timely second-half execution.

Hawai‘i opened the tournament Friday with a record-breaking 116-44 victory over Bethesda, setting a school record for largest margin of victory while giving Ganot his 200th career coaching win.

The Rainbow Warriors will now face their toughest tournament test Monday against Portland, which improved to 2-0 in the event with a 130-56 rout of Bethesda on Sunday.

Hawai‘i and Portland will meet at 7 p.m. Monday in the tournament finale, with the Rainbow Warriors seeking a third straight Rainbow Classic championship and their 18th overall title.

Hawai‘i coach Eran Ganot acknowledged that the victory was not always pretty, particularly after the Rainbow Warriors surrendered their early 13-point lead.

"Sometimes you've got to win ugly," Ganot told Hawaii News Now. "It was beautiful early and then it was ugly and just willing it, finding a way to win, that was a good test for us too."

Davidson said the team's first three games have provided an encouraging indication of its potential.

"It's hard to tell what's going on with the team, we're not playing any competition in the summer, but the last three games have really shown our character," Davidson said.

The Mavericks also received 10 points from Panoam and eight points and nine rebounds from Niko Bundalo. UT Arlington outrebounded Hawai‘i 39-37 and forced 15 turnovers, but could not overcome the Rainbow Warriors' second-half surge.

The Rainbow Classic concludes Monday with UT Arlington facing Bethesda at 4:30 p.m., followed by Hawai‘i against Portland at 7 p.m.