Thursday, February 5, 1998
By Kathryn Bender, Star-Bulletin
Hawaii's Mike Robinson was pumped up after scoring
against San Diego State during the Rainbows'
loss to the Aztecs last night.
Aztecs get a good
grade in chemistry
The Rainbows, on the other hand,
By Dave Reardon
seem to have forgotten
the subject
Special to the Star-BulletinMidterm grades are in, and the San Diego State basketball team is acing chemistry. Meanwhile, Hawaii seems to have misplaced its textbook.
The Aztecs got a pop quiz last night at the Stan Sheriff center, when they trailed the host Rainbows by 10 points in the second half. But like any smart lab section, SDSU worked together to find the answers and won going away, 76-67.
"Chemistry is the toughest thing to get and it's even tougher to keep," Aztecs coach Fred Trenkle said. "We're pretty good as a group, though we're not great as individuals."
Trenkle is just happy to be able to put a team on the floor. He's got nine players, and at one point was down to seven.
But the Aztecs have scratched their way to a 10-9 mark, including 4-4 in the Western Athletic Conference and a home-and-away sweep of the Rainbows.
They led, 35-30, at halftime last night. But SDSU frittered away the lead after a spell of selfish play, according to point guard Jason Richey.
"Our minds weren't all there after halftime," said Richey, who led the Aztecs with 21 points. "We were doing too much one-on-one stuff. But we got back to our game plan, moving the ball around and getting everyone involved."
Five players contributed baskets as SDSU retook the lead with a 14-2 run. Marcelo Correa and Kevin Betts traded backdoor passes for open layups for the first two buckets. Smart passing and the Aztecs' general pep-in-the-step was oddly reminiscent of the way a certain other team was playing just a few weeks ago -- and against nationally ranked opponents.
SDSU hasn't killed any giants like Indiana and Kansas, but it possesses the intangible Hawaii once had and is trying to regain. But the question is how.
"You can't practice chemistry," UH forward Micah Kroeger said. "It's just something that happens. If we keep working hard, hopefully we'll get it back."
SDSU guard Matt Watts, who had 18 points, said the Rainbows need to forget the salad days of November and December.
"That was in the preseason. This is conference time," Betts said. "You've got to be ready to play every night. You try to live off the past and you won't win anything."
The Rainbows also would like to forget their WAC opener -- a road loss to the Aztecs from which they haven't recovered. Hawaii was nationally ranked at the time, and its loss was SDSU's gain.
"We grew a lot mentally," Richey said. "We realized we're a good team."
Although obviously overjoyed by sweeping the series with Hawaii, Trenkle was apologetic last night.
"Riley Wallace is my best friend in the league, and I like all their kids. I don't feel good about starting their woes," Trenkle said. "They're searching, questioning everything they do. I hope they can get it back. What they did early in the season was great for the conference.
"And my prayers are with Riley."
Trenkle referred to the Wallace's angioplasty last week. The SDSU coach has had health problems hit close to home, too. His son, Brady, an Aztec guard, was afflicted with a serious heart virus before the season and still can't practice.
"He's not doing very well, but life-wise he's OK," Trenkle said. "But it's telling on me and it's telling on him. It's been a very mentally tough year for the Trenkles."
But at least his mentally tough basketball team is easing some of the pain.
WAC men
Pacific Division
Conference Overall W L Pct. W L Pct. Texas Christ 7 0 1.000 18 4 .818 Fresno State 5 1 .833 12 7 .632 Tulsa 4 3 .571 12 9 .571 San Diego St 4 4 .500 10 9 .526 So. Methodist 3 4 .429 14 5 .737 Hawaii 3 5 .375 14 6 .700 Rice 2 5 .286 5 15 .250 San Jose State 0 6 .000 2 16 .111
Conference Overall W L Pct. W L Pct. Utah 6 1 .857 18 1 .947 New Mexico 6 1 .857 16 3 .842 Colorado State 5 2 .714 17 3 .850 Wyoming 4 3 .571 14 5 .737 Texas-El Paso 3 4 .429 12 7 .632 Nevada-LV 2 5 .286 10 10 .500 Air Force 1 6 .143 8 9 .471 Brigham Young 1 6 .143 6 15 .286Last night's result
San Diego State 76, Hawaii 67Today's games
Colorado State at Texas-El Paso
Wyoming at New Mexico
Rice at Tulsa
Texas Christian at Fresno State
Brigham Young at Utah
Nevada-Las Vegas at Air ForceSaturday's games
Utah at Rice
Tulsa at Brigham Young
Southern Methodist at Fresno State
Wyoming at Texas-El Paso
Colorado State at New Mexico
Texas Christian at San Jose State
Air Force at San Diego State
Wofford at Nevada-Las Vegas
1997-98 Rainbow Men's Basketball Schedule
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
