Saturday, January 12, 2002
[ UH BASKETBALL ]
Rainbows, Mustangs If anyone needed a PDA yesterday, it was Predrag Savovic. There was a fitting for new shoes, a tooth to be capped and a photo shoot with Sports Illustrated for an upcoming story on the international flavor of Hawaii basketball.
play for first in WAC
Hawaii and SMU are the only
undefeated teams left in the conference;
after tonight, 1 won't beBy Cindy Luis
cluis@starbulletin.comSavovic doesn't need a personal data assistant to keep today's appointments straight. There's only one entry in the "To Do" column: SMU, 7 p.m. Win.
"I can't wait," said the Rainbow senior guard. "It's going to be a good game. They're a good team, but we're a good team, too."
At the moment, Hawaii (14-2, 5-0) and SMU (9-5, 4-0) are the best in the Western Athletic Conference. Only one will come away with its perfect conference record intact after tonight.
"When you're 4-0, you don't get tired," said Hawaii coach Riley Wallace. "They'll be ready. And we'll have to be ready."
That the Rainbows are unbeaten in the WAC doesn't surprise Mustangs coach Mike Dement. That his team is also undefeated comes as a pleasant surprise to the seventh-year coach.
"We have such a young group, but we've won two close ones on the road," said Dement, whose wins at Louisiana Tech and San Jose State have been by a combined five points. "I'm concerned because Hawaii really dominated Louisiana Tech (81-61 Thursday) while we needed a 3-pointer at the buzzer to beat them.
"I'm not sure which strategy would be the best to play them. It's difficult to prepare because they do so many things and do them well. It's pick your poison when it comes to playing them."
The key again will be the guard matchup. SMU is led by senior Damon Hancock and junior Quinton Ross, who are averaging a combined 36 points a game. Hancock, the WAC's scoring leader (20.2 ppg), had a game-high 24 points in Thursday's 68-66 victory at San Jose State, 16 in the second half.
Ross, who hit the game-winning 3-pointer at La. Tech, had just 10 points against the Spartans and was 0-for-6 on 3-pointers. But he hit the game-winning free throws with 40.7 seconds left.
"Hancock took over in the second half, just like he's done in several other games this season," said Dement. "Ross played a good overall game. He just didn't shoot well.
"We'll need those two guys to be at their best for us to be competitive."
Dement is also concerned about the fatigue factor. The Mustangs-Spartans game Thursday was the second of a doubleheader and it didn't begin until 8:30 p.m. The team got to bed after midnight but had a 5 a.m. wake-up call for the drive to San Francisco International Airport.
"It's a long trip," said Dement. "Last Saturday, we were at Ruston (La.), then we went back to Dallas then San Jose and now Hawaii.
"Fatigue could be a factor. If we try to run with them, we'll run out of gas. And Hawaii is shooting the ball so well across the board, shooting 3-pointers well and they stretch you on defense. They'll be tough to defense."
When: 7 p.m. today GAMEDAY
Hawaii vs. SMU
Where: Stan Sheriff Center
TV: Live, KFVE-TV (Channel 5). Replay, 10:30 p.m.
Radio: Live, 1420-AM
Internet: kccn1420am.com
Tickets:
Lower level$14
Adults (upper)$10
UH students$7
Super Rooter$8
Parking$3
As Louisiana Tech found out Thursday, even the best laid game plans can go awry. The Bulldogs were particularly concerned with Savovic, who was averaging a team-best 19.9 points coming into the game.
But Hawaii made a 21-7 run with Savovic on the bench, with senior guard Mike McIntyre and junior guard Mark Campbell combining for five 3-pointers during the spree. McIntyre, who had scored a combined 21 points in the previous six games, tied his career high with 22 points; Campbell, averaging 3.3 points with one 3-pointer all season, had two 3-pointers among his 10 points.
"I'd rather get the other guys their shots, but I had some open shots and took them," said Campbell. "It's not hard to keep it going at all. We have such a winning attitude. We feel like we can beat anyone if we keep playing hard.
"If we bring our intensity, play the defense we're capable of playing, it doesn't matter what the other team does."
Hawaii's in-your-face defense has frustrated recent opponents. Savovic ended up with a chipped tooth following a collision Thursday; Campbell said the Bulldogs took a few cheap shots at him that weren't called.
"I'm not going to out-muscle these guys so my game is to pester them," said Campbell. "My job is to get in their face. When they get in some cheap shots, I know I'm winning and I've taken them out of their game."
At 5-0, Wallace said there's some pressure to keep winning.
"But there's definitely more pressure if you're losing," he said.
WAC STANDINGS
Conference AllGames W L Pct. GB W L Hawaii 5 0 1.000 -- 14 2 SMU 4 0 1.000 1/2 9 5 Fresno St. 3 1 .750 1 1/2 11 5 Tulsa 2 1 .667 2 11 3 Nevada 2 2 .500 2 1/2 9 5 La. Tech 2 2 .500 2 1/2 8 5 Boise St 2 3 .400 3 8 7 UTEP 1 4 .200 4 6 10 Rice 0 3 .000 4 5 8 San Jose St 0 5 .000 5 5 12 Today's games
UTEP at Rice
Boise St. at Tulsa
Fresno St. at Nevada
Louisiana Tech at San Jose St.
HAWAII (14-2, 5-0 WAC) STARTING LINEUPS
Ht. Pts. Reb. Ast. G Predrag Savovic (Sr.) 6-6 19.0 3.8 2.0 G Carl English (So.) 6-5 14.4 4.8 3.4 G Mark Campbell (Jr.) 6-4 3.7 3.1 4.8 F Phil Martin (So.) 6-8 9.4 5.4 0.9 C Haim Shimonovich(So.) 6-10 9.1 7.2 2.3 SMU (9-5, 4-0)
Ht. Pts. Reb. Ast. G Damon Hancock (Sr.) 6-4 20.5 4.4 4.0 G Quinton Ross (Jr.) 6-6 15.5 5.7 2.5 G Kris Lowe (So.) 6-6 7.6 5.3 1.3 F Patrick Simpson (Fr.) 6-9 9.4 7.0 0.9 F Mike Niemi (Sr.) 6-9 1.9 1.6 0.3 Notes: SMU leads the series 5-4. Hawaii leads the WAC series 4-3. The teams split last season. SMU won in Dallas 69-56, while Hawaii won in Honolulu 79-65. ... Hawaii coach Riley Wallace is in his 15th season (230-200). The Rainbows have won eight in a row, fourth-best all time. The 1973-74 team won 11 straight. The 14-2 start is tied for the second-best in school history. Only the 1971-72 team opened better, going 15-1 en route to a 24-3 season and the school's first NCAA Tournament bid. ... Senior guard Predrag Savovic needs five points to pass Tom Henderson (1,082) for No. 6 on the career scoring list. Senior guard Mike McIntyre is No. 4 on the 3-point career list and needs five to pass Trevor Ruffin (122). ... Hawaii is coming off an 81-61 win Thursday over Louisiana Tech, the first game all season where five Rainbows scored in double figures. ... The Rainbows have hit 89 3-pointers this season. The school record is 177, set last year. ... SMU coach Mike Dement is in his 7th year (105-83). The Mustangs have won four straight after concluding the nonconference season with a 74-62 loss to former WAC rival TCU. It is the best conference start since the 1984-85 season. ... The Mustangs are coming off a 68-66 win at San Jose State on Thursday with junior guard Quinton Ross hitting the two game-winning free throws. Ross hit the game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer in the 77-74 win at Louisiana Tech last Saturday. It was the 100th 3-pointer of his career. Ross went 0-for-6 against the Spartans.
UH Athletics
Ka Leo O Hawaii
