Friday, February 27, 1998
But after defeating SJSU,
By Cindy Luis
they still can finish third in the
division and get back in the
NCAA picture
Star-BulletinSAN JOSE, Calif. -- Half full or half empty? The University of Hawaii men's basketball team preferred to look at last night's lackluster 65-48 win over San Jose State as half full -- about the same as the 5,000-seat Event Center, which had a Klum Gym-size crowd of 2,365.
The Rainbows' cup certainly didn't runneth over with stellar performances as they clinched at least fourth place in the Western Athletic Conference's Pacific Division and guaranteed themselves at least a .500 record in the WAC. A victory tomorrow at Fresno State -- coupled with a loss by Tulsa to SMU -- would vault Hawaii into third and nudge the Rainbows (18-7 overall, 7-6 WAC) back into the NCAA Tournament picture.
Last night, the picture was anything but pretty with both teams missing easy layups and putbacks. As bad as the Rainbows shot from the floor -- .281 in the first half, .358 for the game -- the Spartans were even worse -- .267 in the second half, .351 for the game.
"It was pretty ugly, so ugly words cannot explain," said Hawaii senior guard Alika Smith, who finished with 13 points. "We were joking in the locker room that we are just saving it for Fresno (tomorrow, 5:30 p.m.). I hope that's the case.
"Tonight we were in first gear, sometimes in reverse. I hope we're in fourth or fifth gear (tomorrow)."
In the downshift mode last night were Hawaii's post players. They were a combined 4-for-19 from the floor in the first half. But despite numerous blown layups and missed putbacks, the Rainbows hung tough on defense to hand the Spartans their 18th consecutive loss.
"Maybe it is a blessing in disguise," said Hawaii senior forward Micah Kroeger, who hit just 2 of 13 shots. "We seem to play better after we have a game like this. Maybe we'll come out with that extra fire we'll need at Fresno State.
"We played down to their level tonight and it was ugly," Kroeger added. "I had a bad night, but we won, and that's what was important. I don't think bad games are ever good, but you can always take positives out of them."
Somewhere in the middle of the second half the Rainbows remembered what it took to win earlier this year. Will Trawick's basket cut Hawaii's lead to 45-39 with 8:13 left. Six minutes later, Hawaii had blown the game open with a 14-2 run, eight of those points coming off assists.
'Bow leaders
Scoring: Anthony Carter, 18 points
The streak was capped by Smith's basket off a pass from Anthony Carter, a play that caused one court-side fan to comment, "That's why they were able to beat Kansas."
"It can be frustrating when you try to make the good pass and the layup gets missed," said Carter, who finished with 18 points and six assists. "But I missed layups, too. Now we've got to put this game behind us and concentrate on Fresno.
"We've got a good shot at beating them. We'll have to rebound better, not let up on defense, make our layups and do what we've been doing to win."
Hawaii coach Riley Wallace said he wasn't upset with the missed layups.
"We were getting the looks we wanted, the offense was working," Wallace said. "We were doing what we wanted to do, but couldn't finish it off with the layup. Fortunately, we have great guards who can create, pick things up.
"They played us tough at our place and we expected a good game. We had a good game until the end."
Hawaii rallied for a 68-62 victory last month at the Stan Sheriff Center. The Rainbows led by one, 29-28, at halftime in that game, the closest the Spartans had been at intermission in a WAC game this season. Until last night, when it was tied at 26.
Michael Quinney led San Jose State with 13 points. Shaun Murray added 12 points, and Trawick finished with 10 points and 19 rebounds.
Box Score
At San Jose, Calif.
Rainbows (18-7 overall; 7-6 WAC)
mp fgm fga ftm fta reb pf tp M. Robinson 14 2 8 2 2 8 3 6 Kroeger 28 2 13 0 2 3 3 4 Galloway 35 3 8 2 2 12 1 8 Smith 37 5 15 3 4 6 4 13 Carter 37 7 14 3 5 5 1 18 Ambrozich 28 2 5 4 4 9 1 8 Hook 5 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Cartwright 13 2 3 1 2 1 0 6 Zivanovic 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 Moeller 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Team 4 Totals 200 24 67 15 21 48 15 65Spartans (2-23 overall; 0-13 WAC)
mp fgm fga ftm fta reb pf tp Williams 39 3 12 1 6 4 2 7 Murray 30 5 12 2 4 7 3 12 Trawick 37 4 8 2 4 19 2 10 Quinney 34 5 15 0 1 3 4 13 McCullough 28 3 7 0 0 0 2 6 Kennett 25 0 2 0 0 3 1 0 Mertens 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Cooks 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 Team 6 Totals 200 20 57 5 15 42 15 48Halftime score--Hawaii 26, San Jose State 26.3-point goals--UH 2-10 (Cartwright 1-2, Carter 1-3, Kroeger 0-2, Smith 0-3), SJSU 3-11 (Quinney 3-7, Williams 0-1, McCullough 0-3).
Assists--UH 14 (Smith 6, Carter 4, Hook 2, M. Robinson 1, Kroeger 1), SJSU 14 (Williams 6). Turnovers--UH 7 (M. Robinson 2, Smith 2, Ambrozich 1, Cartwright 1, Zivanovic 1), SJSU 14 (Williams 4, Murray 4). Steals--UH 5 (Smith 2, M. Robinson 1, Carter 1, Ambrozich 1), SJSU 3 (Williams 2, Kennett 1). Blocked shots--UH 2 (Galloway 2), SJSU 2 (Trawick 2).
Technicals--None.
A--2,365. Officials: Thornley, McCall, Dixon.
1997-98 Rainbow Men's Basketball Schedule
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
