It was a fitting celebration of three Rainbow Warriors basketball careers at the University of Hawaii at the Stan Sheriff Center on Saturday night.
Seniors Jerome Desrosiers, Junior Madut and Mate Colina led Hawaii to a 62-50 UH victory over Cal State Bakersfield in their final home game in Manoa.
And although the win put the 'Bows (9-4) within striking distance of first place in the Big West Conference standings, the night was more about people than basketball.
"I'm so proud of them...They all were marveling at what this could become and were just so appreciative and thankful. To do something like this with what they've been through, I'm happy happy for them to have it," Hawaii head coach Eran Ganot said. "We live for these moments and they had a moment today. I can just sit back and watch the emotion of it...I'm just so happy for them, I'm proud of them and just glad they're in our lives."
In front of nearly 5,000 Hawaii faithful, the three Warrior upperclassmen were sent off in style. After step-up performances by Desrosiers (9 points), Madut (10 points) and Colina (4 rebounds, block), the seniors were welcomed post-game by a flurry of hugs, cheers and lei from their teammates and coaches.
The most important part of the night, however, came in the form of Mate Colina's family and videos from the families of Madut and Desrosiers.
"I said it before, this place is like my family," Desrosiers said. "I think we felt that through the senior night. With the lei, everybody staying and clapping for us, getting that last shot, it's just a lot of fun. We feel loved, we feel appreciated and that's why this place is the best."
"You definitely go into it with a heavy heart and having my family here definitely hits a soft spot once you get a hug, getting all the leis and all the support the crowd had, and my teammates, it all meant so much," Colina said.
For Madut, the moment was emotional, bringing the Sudanese guard to tears.
"It was surreal, it was crazy, I'm still in shock that they were able to get my family all the way in South Sudan to be on the screen and talk to me," Madut said. "I told myself I wasn't going to get emotional and that video...this is probably one of the most special nights I've ever had so there's a lot of love and I'm going to miss that for sure."
The Bows will take on Cal State Northridge and UC Santa Barbara on the road this week in their final games of the regular season before Big West Tournament play in March.
