Thursday, February 5, 1998
By Kathryn Bender, Star-Bulletin
Hawaii's Anthony Carter, right, twists around
San Diego State's Jason Richey during the first
half of last night's game.
’Bows’ woes continue
San Diego State overcomes a
By Cindy Luis
10-point deficit in the second half
to sweep a UH team in disarray
Star-BulletinDazed. Dizzy.
Disoriented.
And that was just the coach.
About the same time Riley Wallace's head started to spin, his Hawaii men's basketball team went into a tailspin. Maybe even a death spiral.
The Rainbows blew a 10-point lead with 10 minutes left last night against San Diego State and are perilously close to having their postseason aspirations blow up as well. The Rainbows imploded while the Aztecs exploded with a 15-3 run during the final 2:35 to pull away for a 76-67 victory.
It was only the second time the Aztecs have swept the Rainbows during a Western Athletic Conference season, and the first time since 1988, Wallace's first year. San Diego State improved to 10-9 overall and 4-4 in the WAC; Hawaii plunged to 14-6 and 3-5.
"I don't know where we lost it," said Rainbow senior forward Eric Ambrozich, who had a team-high eight rebounds, but just four points. "We had a good stretch going, got up by 10 (55-45), and then relaxed and let them come back.
"We let them take it away from us. This was not the game we needed going into next week (games at TCU on Thursday and SMU on Saturday). I thought we were back to how we were in the beginning of the season (an 11-1 start). We let it slide away."
The slide has turned into an avalanche. Once WAC title contenders, the Rainbows are struggling to make next month's conference tournament in Las Vegas.
"I really feel for them, with their injuries and Riley being ill," San Diego State coach Fred Trenkle said. "They were as good a team as there was in the country through December. Their chemistry isn't there now.
"This was the biggest win we've had in a while. When they took that 10-point lead, we were able to slow things down. Once we got our heads out of our tails, we did a lot of good things."
Doing the most damage was Matt Watts, who scored six of his 18 points during an 88-second span that put the Aztecs ahead for good, 69-64.
Anthony Carter's 3-pointer gave the Rainbows their final lead, 64-61, with 2:50 to go. His 3-pointer with 23 seconds left was UH's only points during the Aztecs' 15-3 closing run.
Seven of SDSU's final points came on free throws as the Rainbows -- called for only three team fouls until the final minute -- had to commit four quick fouls to get the Aztecs to the line. SDSU responded by hitting seven of eight free throw attempts.
"All those fouls we wanted to be called during the game that weren't called came back to bite Hawaii in the end," Trenkle said.
The game took its toll on Wallace, who is recovering from Thursday's angioplasty to clear a clogged artery. The Rainbow coach said he became dizzy and disoriented from the crowd noise that increased as Hawaii rallied from a 35-30 halftime deficit.
"I had to let (associate head coach Bob) Nash take over for me," Wallace said.
When Wallace sat down, Hawaii's defense took a seat as well. On several occasions, the Rainbows' intensity lapsed just before the shot clock expired, yielding some demoralizing baskets to the Aztecs.
"We hit a lull, had three turnovers in a row, and never recovered," Nash said of the Aztecs 14-2 spurt that put them ahead, 59-57. "Our guys really wanted this one and they're going to have to rebound and try to get those wins at TCU and SMU."
"It was beginning to feel like old times," said senior forward Micah Kroeger, who tied his season low of two points. "When we got the lead, we got lazy, didn't do the things we needed to do to finish the game. That burst to get us the lead went for nothing because we threw it away once we got it.
"It's so hard to see everything we've worked for slip away. It's not over. There's six games left. The question is, are we going to pack it in or fight through it?"
After playing three games in five days, the Rainbows have some time to think and regroup before leaving next Monday for Texas. They haven't had a balanced performance since the WAC season began, a slide that started a month ago with the loss at San Diego State.
"It's like we've forgotten how to win a game, or how to finish it," Wallace said. "We've got to get that feeling again. It came back for a little while. We had (Alika) Smith hitting his shot and pumping energy into us.
"The players are hurting right now and you've got to feel for them. They are working hard. Once you let those doubts enter in, you start to play to keep from losing. We've got to start playing to win again."
The Rainbows also need scoring from their big men again. Ambrozich, Mike Robinson and a flu-stricken Erin Galloway combined for just 14 points.
The lack of an inside game has put pressure on the outside shooting. Smith and Carter were a combined 5-for-12 from 3-point range, with three of those coming in the final 10 minutes.
Carter finished with a season-high 25 points and nine assists. Smith added 20 points, 15 in the second half.
Jason Richey and Kevin Betts led the Aztecs with 21 and 16 points, respectively.
Box Score
San Diego State 76, Hawaii 67
At Special Events Arena
Aztecs (10-9 overall, 4-4 WAC)
mp fgm fga ftm fta reb pf tp Richey 38 7 19 4 4 6 2 21 Betts 35 7 10 1 2 9 3 16 Visnjic 22 2 4 3 4 2 4 8 Watts 40 8 19 1 2 8 1 18 Kruiswyk 40 5 11 0 2 3 3 10 Kaplansky 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Brown 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Correa 22 1 2 1 2 6 0 3 Team 2 Totals 0 30 65 10 16 36 14 76mp fgm fga ftm fta reb pf tp M. Robinson 31 2 6 0 0 7 3 4 Kroeger 31 1 6 0 0 8 2 2 Smith 38 8 13 1 4 1 1 20 Carter 40 9 17 5 6 7 2 25 Ambrozich 23 2 7 0 0 8 3 4 Galloway 24 1 4 4 6 2 2 6 Hook 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Cartwright 9 3 6 0 0 1 0 6 Zivanovic 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 Team 0 Totals 0 26 59 10 16 35 13 67Halftime score--San Diego State 35, Hawaii 303-point goals--San Diego State 6-16 (Richey 3-9, Betts 1-1, Visnjic 1-3, Watts 1-3). Hawaii 5-17 (Smith 3-7, Carter 2-5, Ambrozich 0-1, Cartwright 0-1, Kroeger 0-3). Assists--San Diego State 11 (Richey 3, Watts 3, Betts 2, Kruiswyk 1, Kaplansky 1, Correa 1), Hawaii 17 (Carter 9, Kroeger 5, Robinson 1, Smith 1, Ambrozich 1. Turnovers--San Diego State 17, Hawaii 21. Steals--San Diego State 6 (Kruiswyk 2). Hawaii 7 (Kroeger 3). Blocked shots--San Diego State 1 (Rickey), Hawaii 5 (Robinson 3).
A--8,654.
1997-98 Rainbow Men's Basketball Schedule
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
