Troy jumped out to a stunning 16-0 lead in the game’s opening five minutes, then held on in the second half to deny Hawai’i, 65-63, in thrilling non-conference men’s basketball action Friday night.
A Black-clad, Black Friday crowd of about 3,800 at the Stan Sheriff Center watched Jack Purchase score a game-high 21 points for the Rainbow Warriors, who fell to 3-3. Troy improved to 3-3.
After Kevn Baker made a free throw to put the Trojans up, 65-63, with 4.5 seconds remaining, he missed the second attempt and UH’s Noah Allen went coast-to-coast but missed his layup attempt, and Gibson Johnson’s putback also missed as the horn went off.