San Bernardino, CALIFORNIA – After a dramatic 67-61 victory over the University of Alaska-Anchorage in the opening round of the NCAA II West Regional Tournament on March 12, the BYU-Hawaii men’s basketball team lost the semifinal match on March 13 to Humboldt State, 71-61, despite a heroic, 34-point performance from junior Jake Chrisman.
Chrisman, playing with nine stitches over his left eye from an injury sustained in the win over Alaska-Anchorage, hit 15 of 26 shots and pulled down seven rebounds to keep the Seasiders in the game, but it wasn't enough as BYU-Hawaii ended the season with a 23-6 record.
BYU-Hawaii started the game very well, getting a three-pointer from Shawn Opunui on their first possession and then four buckets by Chrisman to take an 11-2 lead just two-and-a-half minutes into the game. But the Great Northwest Conference champion Lumberjacks, 26-5, battled back to tie the game at 19-19. The Seasiders took the lead back on a pair of Opunui free throws but Humboldt State scored seven straight points to take the lead for good. The Lumberjacks increased the lead to eight at 37-29 but the Seasiders scored the last six points of the half to trail at intermission by just two, 37-35.
Humboldt State came out strong in the second half, scoring 11 of the first 13 points of the half to take an 11-point lead. The Seasiders cut the lead to five at 57-52 with 9:10 to play on a pair of baskets by C. J. Fellars but the Lumberjacks responded with a 10-0 run to put the game away.
The normally hot shooting Seasiders, who led the nation in field goal percentage this season, hit just 40 percent from the field and made only Opunui's opening shot from behind the arc. The Seasiders missed their last 19 three-point attempts to finish with just five percent from long range.
Opunui scored 11 points and was the only Seasider besides Chrisman in double figures. Beau Nobmann, who only attempted one shot, nevertheless played a great game in his final outing as the senior captain of the team. Nobmann dished out nine assists and pulled down nine rebounds and committed just one turnover despite facing a full-court press for much of the game. Austin Smylie, limited to 28 minutes by two early fouls, scored eight points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Seasiders.
Nobmann, Cameron Heide, and Matt Winans are the only seniors on the team so the Seasiders will likely be back in the tournament next season.