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Hawaii hits It wasn't so much a New Year's resolution as it was a season's resolve to end 2002 on a winning note. And now the Hawaii basketball team hopes to start off the new year the same way as it did on Monday against previously undefeated Butler -- with a victory.
the road happy
Although they beat Butler,
the Rainbows resolve not
to fall behind early againBy Cindy Luis
cluis@starbulletin.com
The Rainbows (7-1) put their five-game win streak on the line tomorrow at Texas-El Paso (4:05 p.m. HST), a difficult place to win, no matter how down a year the Miners are having. UTEP (2-7) comes back into the Don Haskins Center after going 0-2 in its own Sierra Providence SunClassic last weekend, with losses to Columbia and Air Force.
However, Hawaii won last year in its Western Athletic Conference road opener at UTEP, the first time that had happened in five tries. Past history does not side with the Rainbows on this matter; they are 5-19 in conference road openers since joining the WAC for the 1979-80 season, and 1-8 when it's the first league game as well.
But throw out the history book for this one. Hawaii, greeted by 26-degree weather last night, was still warmed by the memories of winning back-to-back Rainbow Classic titles for the first time in 30 years.
When: Tomorrow, 4:05 p.m. Hawaii time UH at UTEP
Radio: Live, 1420-AM
TV: None
Next game: Saturday at Boise State
It was a long trip for the Rainbows, who got little, if any, sleep, before their 7 a.m. flight yesterday. After leaving the arena after 11 p.m. Monday, some of the players went back to the dorm to watch the television replay; the bus to the airport left at 5:30 a.m.
"We didn't want to get on that plane with a loss, hanging our heads," said Hawaii guard Carl English, the MVP of the Rainbow Classic. "Coach (Riley Wallace) has told us, 'You don't want to travel when you lose.' If we had lost, our heads would have been down.
"We showed we could step it up, coming back from 21 points down. It shows the character of this team."
Unlike the roar heard during the second half against Bradley in the Stan Sheriff Center, Hawaii will likely be able to hear plays being called from the bench tomorrow. The 12,000-seat Haskins Center has been less than half full for all but the games against Texas Tech (10,024) and New Mexico State (8,659).
The boos may likely be for the home team as well. El Paso Times sports columnist Joe Muench claims the home basket has been renamed "Doinksville" in honor of the combined 4-for-20 outing against Air Force by big men John Tofi and Justino Victoriano. As Muench wrote last Sunday, "If you can't beat Air Force, who can you beat?"
Even though the Miners have lost their last nine regular-season road games, Hawaii is not taking them lightly. The Rainbows, coming off the satisfying and intense effort against the Bulldogs in overtime, have weary legs after the long 12-hour travel day.
"Each game we've grown as a team, which will help us be focused against El Paso," Wallace said. "These are two winnable games if we play like we did in the second half. We'd like to come home like we did last year at 2-0 in the WAC."
Hawaii will next travel to Boise State for a Saturday game against the Broncos. The Rainbows won at the BSU Pavilion last year, 64-62, on Predrag Savovic's two free throws with 10.4 seconds left.
"We're going into the (road) games excited, but we also know we have a job to do when we get there," English said. "They're going to be good teams; we can't take them for granted. We saw what happened (against Butler) when we came out slow.
"We have two tough games, but they're winnable games. If we play the way we did (Monday), with a lot of heart, we'll win."
Notes: Freshman forward John Tofi leads the Miners in scoring (13.9 ppg), followed by freshman guard Giovanni St. Amant (11.8 ppg). UTEP's starting lineup is expected to include freshmen Tofi and St. Amant, two junior college transfers in guards Chris Craig and Omar Duran, and senior center Victoriano, who is in his second year at UTEP. ... The Miners opened the year with a win over New Mexico Highlands before losing their next five. UTEP lost senior forward Roy Smalley for the season after he tore his ACL in the Dec. 7 loss to New Mexico State. ... Butler's senior guard Darnell Archey tied the NCAA Division I record for consecutive free throws made with his 73rd straight when he hit the second of two against Hawaii early in the first half Monday. Archey, who matched the mark set by Villanova's Gary Buchanan during the 2000-01 season, has not missed from the line since February 2001.
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