Friday, February 13, 1998
Frogs batter ’Bows
The 126-84 shellacking
From staff and wire reports
hurts UH's WAC Tournament hopesFORT WORTH, Texas -- Pride does indeed goeth before the fall. Hawaii's pride and joy -- its defense -- fell apart first last night, leading to the Rainbows' biggest stumble yet this season. Hawaii, suffering its worst defeat in 21 years, was pounded by No. 22 TCU, 126-84, in a nationally televised Western Athletic Conference game.
"Our goal was to come in tonight and lay 100 points on them," said TCU center Lee Nailon, who had 46 points and 16 rebounds. "This was to prove that we could score on a quality team."
It was the 10th consecutive win for the Horned Frogs (21-4 overall, 9-0 WAC) and their 14th 100-point game of the year. The Rainbows (14-7, 3-6) are 4-43 in games in which they allow 100 or more points.
The 126 points was the most given up by Hawaii since a 124-80 loss at UNLV on March 1, 1977. It was the second-most points ever given up by the Rainbows, who lost at Oklahoma City, 133-85, in 1967.
"We're dejected by the loss," said associate head coach Bob Nash, who replaced an ailing Riley Wallace on the bench.. "I thought we came out with a lot of energy to start the game and also at the start of the second half. I don't know what happened. We got it to seven (64-57 with 15:57 left), and then . . ."
The Frogs then went on a 17-2 run over the next five minutes. Nailon left some 30 NBA scouts salivating with his own highlight film, scoring 12 of his team's 17 points, and the rout was on.
This was not the outcome the Rainbows had hoped to take across town tomorrow when they play Southern Methodist (11 a.m.).
Back home in Honolulu, Wallace felt as deflated as his team.
"We competed for a while and then the same thing happened that's been happening," said Wallace, who watched the game on television. "We burned out. We tried to run with them instead of picking our spots. Our interior defense broke down.
"We were in decent shape and then we let their transition game get going. We got sloppy and they got hot. Even their subs were hot."
Case in point. Junior forward Scott Gradney, averaging 4.4 points, played seven minutes and was 6-for-6 from the field en route to 14 points. Also, freshman guard Thomas McTyer played the final three minutes, had four assists and tossed in a 40-footer at the buzzer to cap the scoring.
It was that kind of night.
"We worked so hard to get back in the game and then we dropped our heads," Nash said. "AC (Carter) tweaked his knee and then we got tentative doing certain things.
"We needed to rise to the occasion and we didn't. What we need to do now is put it behind us and look to SMU. SMU, on paper, is winnable. But it's going to depend on where our psyche is. We're playing for our lives in the WAC Tournament. To a man, everybody assured the coaches that they'd be ready for SMU."
Hawaii has to be. With five games remaining -- three on the road -- the Rainbows are in danger of not making the WAC Tournament. The top six teams from the Pacific Division advance to Las Vegas. Hawaii is currently in sixth place, a game ahead of Rice.
Alika Smith led the Rainbows with 25 points, but struggled from 3-point range (2-for-9). Carter finished with 21 points and Micah Kroeger 10, but the Hawaii front line was again MIA with a combined 12 points from post players Erin Galloway (six), Mike Robinson (four) and Eric Ambrozich (two).
TCU's frontcourt shot 52 percent and outrebounded the Rainbows, 52-34.
"I remembered from our last game how Hawaii played me," said Nailon, held to five first-half points during a 17-point outing at the Stan Sheriff Center. "I knew that they would be physical, so I just tried to get inside and be physical against them. It seemed like as the game went on, things got a little easier."
Mike Jones had 22 points and Malcolm Johnson and Scott Gradney each had 14 for the Horned Frogs. Dennis Davis added 10 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for TCU.
TCU took the lead at the 11:22 mark in the first half and never looked back. The Horned Frogs led 57-44 at halftime and scored 69 points in the second half.
TCU coach Billy Tubbs said his team focused on Hawaii's big players.
"When their guards don't hit the 3, you can concentrate on the inside game a little more," Tubbs said. "We were able to take advantage of that."
TCU's pressure defense helped force 19 UH turnovers. The Frogs had a season-low seven turnovers.
Box Score
Texas Christian 126, Hawaii 84
At Daniel-Meyer Coliseum, Fort Worth
Rainbows (14-7 overall; 3-6 WAC)
mp fgm fga ftm fta reb pf tp Galloway 28 2 3 2 2 6 3 6 Kroeger 22 4 6 2 5 2 4 10 Smith 37 9 21 5 8 6 1 25 Carter 30 8 13 3 6 4 2 21 Ambrozich 19 1 3 0 0 6 3 2 Robinson 20 2 6 0 0 3 5 4 Hook 12 1 3 2 2 0 3 4 Cartwright 18 0 5 2 2 2 1 2 Zivanovic 6 1 3 0 0 2 1 2 Moeller 8 3 5 2 5 0 1 8 Silva 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Team 3 Totals 200 31 68 18 30 34 24 84Horned Frogs (21-4 overall; 10-0 WAC)
mp fgm fga ftm fta reb pf tp Johnson 33 4 11 4 4 2 2 14 Davis 24 4 5 2 4 12 3 10 Nailon 33 18 30 10 11 16 2 46 Fowler 33 2 8 0 0 2 1 4 Jones 33 8 17 4 4 1 2 22 Penny 20 3 9 3 5 6 3 9 Carroll 10 0 1 4 4 3 3 4 Gradney 7 6 6 0 0 2 1 14 McTyer 3 1 1 0 2 0 1 3 Batteaux 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Barrett 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Allan 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Team 8 Totals 200 46 88 27 34 52 19 126Halftime score--Texas Christian 57, Hawaii 44.3-point goals--UH 4-18 (Carter 2-4, Smith 2-9, Kroeger 0-1, Zivanovic 0-1, Cartwright 0-3. TCU 7 -22 (Gradney 2-2, Jones 2-5, Johnson 2-8, McTyer 1-1, Nailon 0-1, Penny 0-2, Fowler 0-3.
Assists--UH 14 (Smith 5, Carter 4, Robinson 3, Galloway 1, Kroeger 1. TCU 23 (Jones 6, Johnson 5, Jones 5, McTyer 4, Daivs 1, Nailon 1, Penny 1). Turnovers--UH 19 (Carter 7), TCU 7 (Jones 2). Steals--UH 5 (Carter 2), TCU 11 (Jones 4). Blocked shots--UH 8 (Galloway 5), TCU 4 (Nailon 2).
A--7,124. Officials: Hightower, Hernandez, Self.
1997-98 Rainbow Men's Basketball Schedule
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