(Honolulu, Hawaii) - The Trailblazers closed out the OUTRIGGER Rainbow Classic on Saturday night falling 68-62 to Hawai'i at Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
Utah Tech (3-4) was paced by three Trailblazers in double figures led by senior forward
Ethan Potter finishing with 15 points, five rebounds and a pair of steals to earn All-Tournament honors.
Redshirt senior
Jusaun Holt came off the bench to score a season-high 14 points and also grabbed five boards.
Noah Bolanga added 12 points and four rebounds and
Chance Trujillo added nine points, including a pair of three-pointers, and joined Potter in earning All-Tournament honors.
As a team, the Trailblazers shot 41.1 percent (23-56) from the field, 23.8 percent (5-21) from three-point range and 73.3 percent (11-15) from the free-throw line.
Hawai'i (4-1) also had three players in double figures led by 23 points from Dre Bullock along with a double-double from Rainbow Classic Most Outstanding Player Isaac Johnson finishing with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
How It Happened
Getting off to a slow start, the Rainbow Warriors jumped out to an 11-2 lead after the opening four-plus minutes.
A layup by Bolanga ended Hawaii's run and Utah Tech was able to get within four (13-9), but the Rainbow Warriors answered back with a 10-2 run to take back a 23-11 lead with just under seven minutes to play in the opening half.
The Trailblazers were able to get within seven (26-19) late in the first half and a late jumper by
Madiba Owona kept UT within single digits trailing 30-21 at halftime.
A three-point play by Potter pulled UT within four (34-30) early in the second half, but an 8-2 run for the Rainbow Warriors were able to push Hawai'i back to a 10-point lead.
With the Rainbow Warriors continuing to lead by six at 46-40, a three-pointer by
Britton Berrett and a layup by Potter pulled UT to a one-point spread with 7:15 remaining in the second half.
A triple by Trujillo kept the Trailblazers within a pair at 51-49, but six straight points from Johnson gave Hawai'i back an eight-point lead.
A free throw and back-to-back three-pointers by Holt and Trujillo pulled the Trailblazers back to within one (57-56), but that was as close as the Trailblazers could get.
Back-to-back late layups from Holt kept the Trailblazers in the contest down the stretch trailing by four (66-62) with two late free throws sealing the win for the Rainbow Warrirors.
Up Next
The Trailblazers return home next week to host Nobel University (1-5) on Friday at 7 p.m. at Burns Arena.
