Cold-shooting Rainbows fall to Portland in Rainbow Classic

James O’Donnell scored 18 points, grabbed nine rebounds and turned the lane into a dead end in Portland’s 73-66 victory over Hawaii in the 60th Outrigger Rainbow Classic tonight.

A crowd of 2,375 saw the Rainbow Warriors offense dissolve in the second half.

During the Pilots’ 10-0 run to seize a 59-48 lead, the ’Bows missed 18 shots in a row.

The drought ended on Tanner Cuff’s 3-point shot with seven minutes to go.

The ’Bows had cut it to 65-59 with 4:15 to play. But O’Donnell’s lay-in made it a three-possession game and the ’Bows would get no closer.

The Pilots hit 14 of 15 free throws in the second half. The ’Bows missed six of 11 free throws in the final 20 minutes.

The ’Bows were down to an active roster of 10 players. Among the five not available were injured point guard Jaden Matingou, co-captain Isaiah Kerr, and defensive specialist Manie Joses.

The Pilots relied on a balanced attack to take a 40-36 lead at the intermission.

The Pilots also were able to reduce the ’Bows’ tempo into a deliberate half-court offense. The short-handed Rainbow Warriors did not have a fast-break point in first 20 minutes.

But the ’Bows were able to find production from posts Bol Dengdit and Zack Davidson. Dengdit parlayed lobs from Chance Trujillo into two layups. Dengdit, the tallest ’Bow at 6-11, also circled to the top of the key to swish a 3.

Davidson scored 10 first-half points with a mixture of baby-hooks and left-handed floaters.

Tanner Cuff hit two 3s en route to a 10-point first half.

The Pilots used an aggressive post defense to bump the ’Bows’ cuts through the paint and clog drives. The Pilots amassed a 15-9 advantage on the boards in the first half.