HONOLULU – The University of Hawaii men's basketball team got off to lackluster start and played catch-up all night long in an eventual 68-54 loss to Vanderbilt on the opening night of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic Tuesday at the SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. 
 
UH (4-4) lost despite an other-worldly performance by Noel Coleman who poured in a career-high 31 points . Coleman shot 12-of-19 from the floor and 6-of-10 on three-pointers. In his last two games, Coleman has shot a combined 12-of-17 on threes.
 
UH was plagued by poor shooting (36 percent) and turnovers (14) in the first half. The 'Bows went scoreless for a six-minute stretch and Vandy took full advantage with a 14-0 run that put them up 28-9. But UH was able to cut the deficit to 35-24 due to the exploits of Coleman who scored 19 points and drained five three-pointers. Coleman shot 7-of-9 in the first half, while the rest of the team shot just 2-of-16.
 
UH rallied after the break and cut a once 19-point deficit to just four points on a Junior Madut bucket less than four minutes into the second half at 35-31. UH stayed within striking distance over the next handful of minutes and was within five at 52-47 with just over seven  minutes on the clock. The Commodores, however, went on 13-2 run to squelch any comeback hope for UH.
 
Turnovers played a key role in the 'Bows deficit throughout the night as UH committed 21 miscues, leading to 23 points off turnovers for Vanderbilt.
 
The Rainbow Warriors will next face South Florida in a consolation bracket matchup on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. HT. Vanderbilt (7-4), meanwhile advances to the tournament semifinals to take on BYU at 5:00 p.m. HT.
 
Wednesday's Results
Liberty 76, Northern Iowa 74
Stanford 66, Wyoming 63
BYU 54, South Florida 39
Vanderbilt 68, Hawai'i 54
 
Thursday's Schedule
Liberty vs. Stanford, 11:00 a.m.
Northern Iowa vs. Wyoming, 1:30 p.m.
BYU vs. Vanderbilt, 5:00 p.m.
South Florida vs. Hawai'i, 7:00 p.m.