By Kenneth Cross
The Diamond Head Classic is the final major college basketball tournament before teams get into conference play either next week or the week after New Year’s Day.
The following is a wrap-up of the Day 1 and Day 2 Action as Day 1 saw SMU, Utah State, Washington State, and Hawaii collect wins. The Mustangs and Rainbow Warriors are set for Christmas evening for the championship as Hawaii has never played for the championship in Diamond Head Classic action.
Day 2
Championship Bracket
Mustangs Trip Aggies Behind Phelps, Consistent Defense
In Friday’s first semifinal, Zhuric Phelps led five SMU Mustangs in double figures while SMU held Utah State to 37.5 percent from the floor as the Mustangs slipped past the Aggies, 77-74.
Phelps gave the Mustangs the lead for good on a jumper that saw SMU take a 7-5 lead with 16:46 left in the first half. SMU led by as many as 12, but the Mustangs never trailed as they led for 35:33.
They never gave up the lead in the second half either as Utah State hit SMU with an 8-0 run which cut the Ponies lead to 63-62 when Dan Akin hit a pair of free throws with 4:39 remaining.
Samuell Williamson complemented Phelps as he was 7-of-10 from the floor, scoring 15 points while Shawn Bairstow and Max Shulga scored 18 points each for the Aggies.
SMU scored 22 points off of 13 Utah State turnovers while Utah State forced only five turnovers and turned those into two points.
Second Half Run Sends Hawaii Pass Washington State
Washington State guard TJ Bamba scored on a pair of layups as Washington State tied Hawaii, 35-35, with 12:10 remaining in the game.
From there, the Rainbow Warriors outscored the Cougars, 20-5, to place a 61-52 win and a matchup with SMU in tomorrow night’s Diamond Head Classic Finals.
Samuta Avea hit a pair of jumpers that sparked an 8-0 Hawaii run as he put the Rainbow Warriors ahead at 43-35 with 9:20 left in the game. Avea then netted a three and scored on a 15-footer as Hawaii capitalized on it’s 10-2 sprint which slammed the door and allowed them to take a 55-40 lead with 2:29 remaining.
Avea led Hawaii with 19 points while Jovon McClanahan was 6-of-7 from the floor and added 16 points.
Bamba led the Cougars with 19 points as the Hawaii defense shut down the Cougars, who shot 30.5 percent from the floor.
SMU will matchup with Hawaii for the championship of the Diamond Head Classic while Washington State meets Utah State for Third Place.
Day 2
5th Place Bracket –
Nelly Joseph Leads Gaels past RedHawks
The Iona Gaels went on a 12-0 run out of halftime to take a 41-29 lead over Seattle U and defeat the Redhawks, 83-72.
Nelly Joseph was unstoppable inside with 26 points as Iona outrebounded Seattle U, 33-24, while outscoring the Redhawks, 17-16, on the fast break which gave them a 36-22 advantage in the paint.
Osborn Shema scored seven of Iona’s 12 points in that quick second half run as Seattle U ended the first half on a 10-0 run to tie the game at 29-29.
The Gaels led by as many as 14 in the first half as Joseph had a layup and a dunk on back-to-back possessions to give Iona a 16-2 advantage with 15:08 remaining in the first half.
Guard Daniss Jenkins scored 19 points while Shema tallied 11 for Iona. Seattle U guard Cameron Tyson led all scorers with 27 points as he made 12-of-15 free throws.
The Redhawks stayed within striking distance because of the free throw line where they made 32-of-45 foul shots.
Lewis, Porter Lead Pepperdine Over GW
The Waves led throughout the second half in placing and 81-70 victory as Javon Porter scored five points in a 9-0 run as he made a layup to give Pepperdine a 45-40 lead with 16:28 remaining.
Maxwell Lewis made 9-of-13 shots and led the Waves with 22 points while Porter made 8-of-15 field goals in scoring 18 points while he also grabbed 14 rebounds.
James Bishop scored 22 points to lead the Colonels in the first year of a rebuild under coach Chris Caputo.
Brendan Adams finished with 14 points for George Washington while Hunter Dean was 6-of-7 from the floor in netting 13 points.
Pepperdine will meet Iona in the Fifth Place game on Sunday while George Washington matches up with Seattle U for seventh place.
Day 1
SMU Stops Iona
SMU topped Iona, 85-81, as Mustangs forward Keon Ambrose-Hylton scored eight of his 16 points in the final 6:49. SMU overcame a 12-point deficit after Nelly Joseph hit a jumper to give the Gaels a 66-54 advantage.
Sophomore guard Zhuric Phelps led SMU with 22 points and scored seven in an 11-0 Mustangs run that cut the Iona lead to 66-65 with 7:48 to play.
Ambrose-Hylton, who finished 7-of-8 from the floor, had a pair of layups to scissor the Gaels’ lead to one on each occasion. His dunk and two free throws helped SMU engineer a 13-2 run to take 70-62 lead with 3:46 remaining.
Joseph hit a pair of free throws to end a 9-2 run and cut the Mustangs’ margin to 82-81 with just over a minutes remaining.
Walter Clayton, Jr., led Iona with 22 points while Joseph scored 20.
Utah State Bombards Seattle U
The Aggies rebounded off of their first loss of the season as they held the Redhawks to 29 percent from the floor in handing Seattle U an 84-56 defeat in Thursday’s second game.
Steven Ashworth led four Aggies in double figures with 17 points as he made 5-of-8 three-point field goals. Taylor Funk was 3-of-7 from the three-point line as Utah State made 11-of-28 triples for 39.3%.
Utah State posted an 11-0 run as Max Shulga’s two free throws gave the Aggies their biggest lead at 33-18.
Leading 36-24 at halftime, Funk hit a pair of threes to give the Aggies a 12-5 run to build their lead to 48-29 with 16:10 to play.
Redhawks guard Cameron Tyson led all scorers with 20 points.
Mullins’ Three Carries Cougars over Colonials
Jabe Mullins’ three-pointer with three seconds remaining allowed Washington State to edge George Washington, 66-64, in Game Three of the Diamond Head Classic on Friday night.
Hunter Dean and Brendan Adams scored on back-to-back possessions to give GW a 59-57 lead with 2:23 remaining. Then, Washington State’s TJ Bamba hit a pair of free throws before Mouhamed Gueye scored on a layup to tie the game at 63-63.
After the Colonials’ EJ Clark hit a free throw for the 64-63 advantage, Mullins provided the game-winner.
Gueye led all scorers with 21 points and Bamba followed with 17 for Washington State. Adams led five Colonials in double figures with 17 points.
George Washington shot 49 percent from the floor, but Washington State outrebounded The Colonials, 39-26, and outscored GW, 13-4, on the offensive glass.
Hawaii Holds Off Pepperdine
Hawaii built a 38-24 halftime lead over the Pepperdine Waves and then pushed that lead to 53-36 lead on a Bernardo De Silva layup with 13:28 to play.
The Rainbow Warriors led wire to wire before the Waves cut it to four points late, and then posted the 76-70 victory.
Hawaii made 9-of-20 threes to solidify the win which places them against SMU at 7 pm, Hawaii-time.
Noel Coleman led four Rainbow Warriors in double figures with 22 points while Pepperdine forward Maxwell Lee led all scorers with 23 points