HONOLULU — With each pantomimed bite, the Big Fish consumed more of the oxygen in the building.

Isaac Johnson chomped his way into the hearts of the 2,349 people in the Stan Sheriff Center as the Hawaii men’s basketball team swallowed up Manhattan, 86-56, on Day 2 of the Outrigger Rainbow Classic.

The sublime 21-point second half by the 7-foot senior center from American Fork, Utah, included a pair of dunks and four 3-pointers. Each was accompanied by the same vertical biting motion with his lengthy outstretched arms.

[Note: See below for more photos of Hawaii-Manhattan basketball.]

A smattering of attendees returned the gesture after his first couple baskets of the period. By the end of the night, many in the arena’s lower bowl had caught on.

“It’s the Big Fish chomp,” Johnson said. “It’s a little bit of a rebrand of the Gator chomp.”

After his 25-point, 11-rebound, two-block performance was complete, the Utah State transfer reflected on the origins of his nickname — an old moniker at American Fork High where he and a teammate both went by Fish. He was easily the taller of the two, so the size modifier was added.

As for his signature celebration, he said: “It’s kind of a staple from where I was at with Utah State with the (student section). It just kind of helps bring energy, gets the body (moving), some noise going. I think it’s something fun that the kids and the rest of the crowd like, so hopefully we can make it a thing and I have more opportunities to do good so we can keep it going.”

UH (3-1) has registered three straight 30-point home blowouts and will go for the outright Rainbow Classic title against Utah Tech (2-2) at 7 p.m. Saturday. Should they win, it would be the Rainbow Warriors’ 17th title in the 59th edition of the longest-running early-season college hoops tournament in the country. Five have come since the formerly signature holiday tournament shifted to a four-team round-robin format in 2009, now marking the launch of a season or close to it.

Johnson has been on successful teams; he was part of an NIT team his freshman season at Oregon and reached the NCAA Tournament in both his seasons at USU.

He had the occasional big game as an Aggie — including a 19-point outing in a win against TCU in the first round of the 2024 Big Dance — but he went into the portal feeling “disrespected” and like he had plenty to prove. He came to the Rainbow Warriors as one of six Division I transfers for 2025-26, and one of four newcomers from the Beehive State.

“I have one year left and I’m not wasting it,” he said. “I know a lot of the (UH) guys feel the exact same way.”

He still salutes the raucous student section in Logan, with whom he enjoyed something of cult status, as the best in the country — something he hopes to replicate here. A milkshake flavor was named after him at the Utah-based burger and shake chain Arctic Circle.

Johnson married his wife, Audrah, a USU women’s volleyball player, back in Utah in June. She transferred to the Chaminade volleyball team this fall.

He debuted the chomp during his starting lineup introduction for UH’s preseason exhibitions, but Friday was really the first time it’d been seen midgame at the Sheriff.

Eran Ganot was struck early in the recruiting process by Johnson’s goofy, flamboyant style. It was part of the package as “Big Fish” started doing the chomp after made 3-pointers in practice.

“Everyone’s calling me saying, ‘Fish! You got Big Fish!’” the UH coach said. “I’m like, ‘what’s going on here?’ … Over the years we’ve called ‘fishes’ guys who don’t defend. And so I said to him early, ‘I’m not calling you Fish.’ But then, with the 700 Isaacs we have, and the fact that is your identity, I said, ‘screw it, you’re Fish,’ and everybody knows the difference.”

He hit a banked 3-pointer as part of a 13-point, eight-rebound debut in UH’s one-point loss in the season opener at Oregon but had not converted another from long range until he pick-and-popped 5 minutes, 20 seconds into the second half Friday.

From there, he kept popping, and kept converting.

In between he threw down a tip dunk and an alley-oop from Aaron Hunkin-Claytor.

“Fish has sacrificed in the post and rolling more,” Ganot said. “Now because they’re playing for that, now the pops start to get open.”

Johnson contributed to a domination of the glass against the smaller Jaspers (2-2), whose shifty guards were run off the 3-point line and into trouble at the rim. UH went plus-20 on the backboards, including 15-6 at offensive end, leading to an 18-1 advantage in second-chance points.

“Their length, I felt, bothered us. They’re a great team. They showed it against Oregon,” Manhattan coach John Gallagher said. “They just make you attack the rim with their defensive concepts. We needed to stay poised around the rim and we rushed a lot of shots.”

No member of Manhattan’s starting five scored more than six; forward Anthony Isaac was the only Jasper to gain traction off the bench with 17 points.

Team captain and starting power forward Harry Rouhliadeff was knocked out of the game in the first half with an inadvertent hit to the upper body after he made a putback basket. He left the floor woozily with seven points and four boards and did not return to action, though he made it back to the team bench for the second half.

“Tough break,” Ganot said. “He’s had too many of those where he gets hit in the head or near the head. We said, ‘Hey, step up for (Tanner) Cuff, step up for Harry right now.’ And they’ll do their part to get back.”

Isaac Finlinson suppled 14 points and seven boards in under 20 minutes off the bench and backup big man Yacine Toumi fouled out with 10 points and five boards in 10 minutes.

Finlinson, staid by comparison, was glad the crowd got to see Johnson the way his teammates have in practice for months.

“When someone’s playing well, showing emotion and getting the crowd into it, it’s great,” Finlinson said. “That was awesome for our momentum tonight. I think that’s his new trademark here; I think everyone’s catching along. He’s been doing that for a while but I think everyone here knows that’s his thing now. That was cool to watch.”

UH will hold its Coaches vs. Cancer fundraiser in the Wong Hospitality Suite at the Stan Sheriff Center prior to its game.

Hawaii center Isaac Johnson blocked a shot by Manhattan forward Anthony Isaac in the second half Friday. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)

Isaac Johnson flashed “3” after a 3-point basket. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)

Isaac Johnson stuck out his tongue after a bucket. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)

Manhattan guard Quron Elliott drove against UH. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)

Isaac Johnson, right, performed “the chomp” to fans at the Stan Sheriff Center. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)

Hawaii forward Jalen Myers put up a left-handed shot against Manhattan’s Erik Oliver-Bush. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)

Manhattan guard Devin Dinkins was met in the post by UH’s Aaron Hunkin-Claytor. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)

Hawaii’s Aaron Hunkin-Claytor (30) and Isaac Finlinson (6) collaborated on a basket. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)

Isaac Johnson chomped his arms as he made his way upcourt. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)

Manhattan guard Jaden Winston tried to drive past UH’s Hunter Erickson. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)

Hawaii forward Gytis Nemeiksa passed out of traffic in the paint. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)

Hawaii big men Isaac Johnson (20) and Harry Rouhliadeff (14) mixed it up with Manhattan in the paint. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)

Hawaii guard Hunter Erickson drove in for a layup. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)

Hawaii coach Eran Ganot, middle, and athletic trainer Frank Pena, left, attended to forward Harry Rouhliadeff after he was shaken up on a collision in the first half. He left the game and did not return. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)

Hawaii guard Isaiah Kerr went in for a layup. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)

Manhattan’s Erik Oliver-Bush dunked the ball over UH’s Gytis Nemeiksa. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)

Hawaii wing Dre Bullock drove for a shot against Manhattan’s Fraser Roxburgh (3). (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)

Hawaii point guard Aaron Hunkin-Claytor threw a chest pass. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)

Hawaii center Isaac Johnson, right, looked for a shot against Manhattan’s Marko Ljubicic. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)

Hawaii coach Eran Ganot, left, and the UH coaching staff. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)

Hawaii wing Dre Bullocked flashed “3” after sinking a long-range shot. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)

Manhattan coach John Gallagher yelled instructions to his team. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)

Hawaii forward Harry Rouhliadeff put the ball on the floor on a drive. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)

Hawaii guard Isaiah Kerr went for a floater against Manhattan’s Anthony Isaac. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)

Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.