Warriors Men's Basketball Participated in University of Hawaii's Rainbow Classic
Honolulu, HI - The Warrior's Men's Basketball team was invited to compete in the 58th Outrigger Rainbow Classic, which is hosted every year by NCAA D1, University of Hawaii. This marked the first time in program history that any one of our programs has competed in a tournament hosted by an NCAA D1 institution. This also cemented LPU as one of two programs in the entire small college landscape nationally that competed in a NCAA D1 tournament, as Chaminade University historically hosts the Maui Invitational.
The Warriors entered play in the Rainbow Classic with an official record of 1-0, coming off of their opening day defeat of Bethesda University back on October 31st. Shortly after, they traveled West to Los Angeles to take on another NCAA D1 opponent, Loyola Marymount University, in an exhibition matchup for the Warriors. This would prove to be a good test and preparation for the Warriors next three games as they were going to partake in the Rainbow Classic on November 8-11th.
LPU kicked off the tournament with a matchup against the host team, University of Hawaii, which saw the Warriors battle and drop the matchup 96-61. Despite the score, the Warriors played the Rainbow Warriors to a nearly even 2nd half, as they were only outscored 40-32 in the 2nd half of the game. The second matchup of the tournament, the Warriors played against another NCAA D1 opponent, the University of Pacific, who shot an impressive 55% for the game and ended up beating the Warriors by a final score of 94-41. In their third game in four days, the Warriors closed out the Rainbow Classic with a faceoff against San Jose State, in which they dropped the game 93-56.
This tournament was a monumental experience for the Warrior's Men's Basketball program and will serve as a good experience early in the season where they competed in four straight competitions against NCAA D1 opponents. They now look forward as they host their fellow NAIA opponent, Westcliff University, this Saturday, November 16th at 7pm here at Mehl Court.
When asked to reflect on the trip and the meaning for the program, Coach Tim Cook stated, "It truly was a once in a lifetime opportunity for our program to play in the 58th Annual Rainbow Classic at the Stan Sheriff Center. We played against three really good NCAA Division 1 opponents and it was a great all around experience for the players, us coaches, our fans, and the entire LPU community. It was a special time for our basketball program as we set out to build a competitive infrastructure into our schedule. We were able to show tremendous resilience and growth over these past few weeks and it will be something that we feel will help us moving forward throughout our season and into the competitive GSAC play."