HONOLULU – In a classic tussle between old conference rivals, the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team pulled out a 67-63 win over UTEP on the opening night the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic Sunday at the Stan Sheriff Center.
 
UH (8-3), which trailed by as many as nine points in the second half, used a strong finish to advance to the championship bracket of the tournament for the first time since 2015. Awaiting the Rainbow Warriors will be No. 22 Washington as the teams face off in a semifinal showdown on Monday at 6:00 p.m.  
 
On a night when UH struggled from the free throw (12-of-25) and three-point (3-of-13) lines, UH got a pair of career performances from Samuta Avea and Bernardo da Silva to save the day. Avea scored 16 points, all but two of them coming in the second half, while adding eight rebounds. Da Silva also had his best game of the season with 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting, while also adding five rebounds.
 
That effort helped off-set a stellar performance by UTEP's Bryson Williams, who poured in 33 points, the most by a UH opponent this year.  
 
The first half was back-and-forth with nine ties and five lead changes. The Miners scored six straight points in the final 50 seconds of the half to take a 37-31 lead at the break.
 
The Miners extended that lead to nine points early in the second half, and held a 51-43 led with just over 10 minutes left. That's when Avea took over, scoring seven straight UH points, including a three-pointer and resounding dunk on consecutive possessions to get the 'Bows back in the game.
 
UH trailed 60-58 with less than three minutes left, but the 'Bows went on to score six unanswered points snatch the game from the Miners (8-3). Avea drained a pair of free throws to tie it up, while a da Silva layup with 1:29 left put UH up by two. UH ultimately sealed the game on Drew Buggs' scooping layup as the shot clock expired to give the 'Bows a 64-60 lead with just 37 seconds left. Buggs finished the game with nine points and eight assists
 
The 'Bows and the Miners, former long-time members of the Western Athletic Conference, met for the first time in 14 years, with UH beating UTEP for the first time in the last five contests. UH continued to hold court at home, improving to 8-1 at the Stan Sheriff Center.
 
Day 1 Results
Houston 81, Portland 56
Georgia Tech 74, Boise State 60
No. 22 Washington 85, Ball State 64
Hawai'i 67, UTEP 63
 
Day 2 Schedule
Portland vs. Boise State, 11:30 a.m.
Houston vs. Georgia Tech, 2:00 p.m.
No. 22 Washington vs. Hawai'i, 6:00 p.m.
Ball State vs. UTEP, 8:30 p.m.