Sunday, January 13, 2002
[ UH BASKETBALL ]
In many ways, the Hawaii basketball team is an old-school group. ’Bows not afraid of
the 3-pointerBy Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.comBut that relatively new invention, the 3-point line, is the Rainbows' best friend. They hit a school-record 14 treys in last night's 83-74 victory over Southern Methodist.
The old record of 13 was set against North Carolina in 1993 and matched last season against Texas Christian.
Take away the long bombs last night, and the score would have been tied at 69.
The Rainbows didn't come into the game with the idea of casting away from 3-point land any more than usual.
"That's what's good about this team," Hawaii coach Riley Wallace said. "They take what they give you. (SMU) didn't want to give us layups. They were giving us 3s. This team reads your defense and takes what they give you."
UH made nine of 13 treys after halftime, staving off several runs by SMU.
Predrag Savovic, who led Hawaii with 22 points, made five of 10, but didn't consider it a big deal.
"Shooting? It's just one orange ball and we just put it in," he said. "We're playing with a tournament attitude."
You know it's your night when you get knocked on your rump and you bank in a three, and then hit a foul shot for a four-point play. That's what Savovic did with 9 minutes and 46 seconds left in the game, putting UH up 60-55.
"It was just a shot," Savovic said. "I did it before, I'll probably do it again in the future."
It was similar to a play last week on the road at Boise State.
"Savo showed it wasn't a lucky shot at Boise state," Wallace said. "That's about the fourth one like that I saw him make."
Meanwhile, Mindaugas Burneika quietly added to the barrage, with 4-of-6 3-point shooting helping him score 16 points. Mike McIntyre, also coming off the bench, scored 17 while making 3 of 5 from behind the arc.
"I've been working for two weeks on it," McIntyre said. "The last five games I couldn't make any. Coach (Bob) Nash and the psychologists (Mike D'Andrea and Judy Daniels) have been working with me. I'm getting open looks and I'm taking them.
"It's tough to play SMU. They're a great team with great guards. But we had a great shooting night."
It was the second consecutive game in which non-starters Burneika and McIntyre gave the Rainbows a huge lift off the bench. They made two 3-pointers each in the closing minutes to keep the Mustangs from gaining momentum.
"When those guys continue to come off the bench and do that we'll be tough to beat," Wallace said.
UH Athletics
Ka Leo O Hawaii
