About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For an opening act, Hawaii point guard Jaden Matingou delivered the parting shot.
Matingou's 8-foot jumper with 1.2 seconds left delivered the Rainbow Warriors a 74-73 victory over Seattle in the season opener at Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
A crowd of 2,778 saw the 'Bows build and then blow a 16-point lead. Seattle used an 8-0 run to take a 65-64 lead with 3:31 to play.
The Redhawks had a chance to increase a 73-72 lead when Will Heimbrodt was fouled with 13.8 seconds to go.
But Heimbrodt missed both free throws. UH's Zack Davidson grabbed the rebound, Chance Trujillo advanced the ball across halfcourt, and UH called timeout with 10.4 seconds to play.
Matingou took the ball at the top of the key and tried to play off Bol Dengdit's screen. But his route was cut off. He went left and into another help defender, then went back to his right, where he launched the step-back jump.
"They had a couple of options for us," Matingou said. "They had Chance on the weak side. It started with the ball screen with me. I just have to give credit to my coaches for putting us in the right positions to succeed. That's all it is."
Matingou said, "At first, they played good defense on it. And it kind of broke down to a short iso. And then (the defender) had a little space, so I leaned back and shot it."
Trujillo said: "I knew it was going in. In the timeout, I knew he was going to hit a game-winner. Our coach came in the timeout and said, 'We are a clutch team.' And he just looked over at me, fired up, and I knew we were going to win the game."
Offensive coordinator Adam Jacobsen said the plan was to set a ball screen and "give Jaden as much space as we could. He was having success driving the ball to the basket and getting fouled or making plays for his teammates. We had our best shooting lineup in at the time. We wanted to let Jaden go to work. A lot of times you want to keep it simple and let your guys make a play. Jaden made a play."
Matingou, a transfer from Division II Point Loma, said this was his first big shot in college ball.
"It's been a while, since high school, I think," Matingou said of his last game-winner.
UH's Marcus Adams intercepted the ensuing inbounds pass to set off a loud celebration.
The 'Bows entered short-handed, without four players, including guard Isaiah "Zay" Kerr and center Houran Dan. But they were able to solve one of last season's top defenses with quick ball movements, cuts and aggressive attacks at the basket in taking a 47-39 lead into the intermission.
Trujillo, a transfer from Utah Tech, led the way with 13 first-half points. Trujillo chased down a loose ball for a breakaway layup. He then intercepted a skip pass, eventually leading to a 3 from the left wing. Trujillo buried three 3s in the opening half.
Matingou made the most of his 8:23 of playing time before intermission — he had picked up two fouls — to produce eight points and guide the 'Bows' accelerated offense.
Northern Arizona transfer Davidson, who opened at the four, showed patience, often pump-faking and then driving for point-blank shots. He had nine first-half points on 4-for-5 shooting.
Adams, who was slowed by injuries during summer workouts, grabbed an offensive rebound and then swished a fade-away jumper. He also assisted on one of Trujillo's 3-point shots.
Prior to the game, the 'Bows announced Dan would be sidelined because of an NCAA eligibility issue "originating prior to his enrollment" at UH. Dan is a transfer from Seattle.
"We are working with the NCAA to reach a fair resolution," UH officials said in a release. "Out of respect for student privacy and the active institutional review, we will have no further comment at this time."
Dan has practiced with the 'Bows since joining in June. He was held out of last week's exhibition against Hawaii Pacific. Dan attended Monday's game but did not participate in warmups.
RAINBOW WARRIORS (1-0, 0-0 MOUNTAIN WEST)
Officials — Bob Huntzberger, Ian Caldwell, Edwin Young.
A — 4,256 (tickets issued), 2,778 (turnstile).
Source: Sports
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