HONOLULU — Samuta Avea scored 19 points and tournament host Hawaii advanced to the final of the Diamond Head Classic for the first time with a 62-51 victory over Washington State on Friday night.
Hawaii, which has hosted the event 11 times since 2009, will play SMU in the championship game on Sunday. The Classic wasn't played in 2019 because of COVID-19 and COVID also forced the cancellation of last year's final between Stanford and Vanderbilt.
Avea made 8 of 14 shots with two 3-pointers for the Rainbow Warriors (8-3). Jovon McClanahan finished with 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting, adding six rebounds and four assists.