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Louisiana Tech's Donell Allick and Hawaii's Phil Martin fought for a rebound during yesterday's WAC game in Ruston, La. The Rainbows beat the Bulldogs and finished their road trip without losing a game.
’Bows sweep
road tripHawaii beats LaTech to
accomplish a first since
it joined the WAC
RUSTON, La. >> Hawaii forward Julian Sensley poured in a career-high 19 points as the Rainbow Warriors defeated Louisiana Tech 67-60 yesterday to complete a sweep of their three-game road trip.
Sensley took advantage of his 6-foot-9 frame to knock down nine of 11 shots from the field in 30 minutes of action.
HAWAII 67 LaTech 60
NEXT UP
vs. UTEP on Thursday
"Julian Sensley is a guy right now who makes his play tough to defend," Hawaii coach Riley Wallace said. "He's 6-9, 235 (pounds); at the 3 spot, he gives us a completely different look."
UH improved to 12-3 overall and 4-1 in the Western Athletic Conference.
The game followed wins at San Jose State and Southern Methodist on an 11-day road trip, marking the first time a UH team has won three games on the same regular-season road trip since joining the WAC in 1979.
"It's going to boost our confidence," Hawaii guard Michael Kuebler said. "We just need to do what we always do at home."
The Bulldogs (8-8, 2-4) tried to attack Hawaii with a three-guard offense, but the 'Bows' frontcourt of Sensley, Phil Martin and Haim Shimonovich proved to be too big and too tough, combining for 37 points.
Sensley said he noticed the size difference early, as he was guarded by 6-foot-3 Corey Dean and 6-foot-4 Donell Allick most of the game.
"I just got on a roll," he said. "I noticed the mismatch early (and tried to take advantage of it)."
Kuebler, who led the WAC in scoring at 19.7 points per game heading into the contest, was held to 14 points. However, he said Sensley stepped up when he needed to.
"It seemed like there was a stretch where he had like eight in a row," Kuebler said. "He got a lot of slips, where he came off screens and back doors to the basket."
Louisiana Tech coach Keith Richard said Sensley created matchup problems for the Bulldogs all night long, but added that the sophomore forward will create those problems against any team.
"(Sensley) is a big-time player," Richard said. "I would not be surprised if that kid plays at the next level someday."
Hawaii took a 26-24 lead into halftime behind a balanced attack. Seven players scored in the first half, and Martin led the team with six points.
Richard said he was pleased with the way his team defended the Rainbows in the first half. However, the Bulldogs did not bring the same defensive intensity in the second half, and the Rainbows opened their two-point halftime lead into a 15-point advantage.
"From our perspective, we lost the game in the first six minutes of the second half," Richard said.
"We came out and did not have it. I believe it cost us the game. You can't guard Hawaii for 30 minutes. When you don't have great energy on defense, they start picking you apart."
Wallace attributed the Rainbows' play in the second half to the team's ability to focus down the stretch of a grueling road trip.
"We did a great, great job of staying focused," Wallace said. "We worked hard in practice. We had energy and were able to play defense. They killed us on the boards by 12, but in the second half we were able to stop some of that."
Tech freshman forward Paul Millsap, who came in as the leading rebounder in the nation at 12.3 per game, had much to do with the 'Bows being outrebounded 42-30.
The 6-7, 225-pounder finished the game with 16 points and 15 rebounds for his 10th double-double of the season. However, the 'Bows held him to just five rebounds in the second half.
Tech forward Wayne Powell also finished with 16 points, while Allick finished with 11.
With the win, Hawaii moved into a first-place tie in the loss column with Rice and Fresno State. Rice lost 74-68 at Tulsa, while Fresno dropped a 72-58 decision at Texas-El Paso yesterday.
The Rainbows return home today and face UTEP (12-3, 3-2) on Thursday and Boise State (10-5, 2-3) on Saturday at the Stan Sheriff Center.
WAC standings
Yesterday's games
Conference All games W L Pct. W L Pct. Fresno St. 5 1 .833 9 6 .600 Hawaii 4 1 .800 12 3 .800 Rice 3 1 .750 11 4 .733 UTEP 3 2 .600 12 3 .800 Nevada 3 3 .500 9 6 .600 Boise St. 2 3 .400 10 5 .667 SMU 2 3 .400 8 7 .533 Tulsa 2 3 .400 6 8 .429 Louisiana Tech 2 4 .333 8 8 .500 San Jose St. 0 5 .000 5 10 .333
Boise State 79, Nevada 75
Tulsa 74, Rice 68
Hawaii 67, Louisiana Tech 60
SMU 73, San Jose State 58
UTEP 72, Fresno State 58
Hawaii 67, Louisiana Tech 60
WARRIORS (12-3, 4-1 WAC)
BULLDOGS (8-8, 2-4 WAC)
fg fga ft fta min reb a tp Martin 5 10 4 5 37 7 2 14 Shimonovich 2 7 0 1 29 4 4 4 Sensley 9 11 1 1 30 6 2 19 Lee 3 6 1 2 25 1 2 8 Kuebler 4 11 4 4 40 6 3 14 Zivanovic 0 2 0 0 2 1 0 0 Carter 0 2 2 2 15 1 4 2 Peciukas 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 Blackett 2 3 0 0 16 0 1 4 Jesinskis 1 1 0 0 3 0 0 2 Team 4 Totals 26 53 12 15 200 30 18 67
Key -- fg: field goals; fga: field goals attempted; ft: free throws; fta: free throws attempted; min: minutes; reb: rebounds; a: assists; tp: total points.
fg fga ft fta min reb a tp Powell 7 15 2 2 34 7 1 16 Millsap 5 11 6 13 40 15 0 16 Allick 4 12 0 2 37 4 4 11 Young 1 4 2 2 26 4 1 5 Dean 4 11 1 2 32 3 6 9 Woods 1 3 0 0 15 1 0 3 Edwards 0 2 0 0 11 0 2 0 Johnston 0 1 0 0 5 1 0 0 Team 7 Totals 22 59 11 21 200 42 14 60
Halftime -- Hawaii 26, LaTech 24.
3-point goals -- Hawaii 3-11 (Kuebler 2, Lee), LaTech 5-13 (Allick 3, Young, Woods). Personal fouls -- Hawaii 15, LaTech 14. Steals -- Hawaii 5 (Martin 2, Carter 2, Sensley), LaTech 5 (Powell, Allick, Dean, Woods, Edwards). Blocked shots -- Hawaii 3 (Shimonovich 2, Martin), LaTech 1 (Edwards). Turnovers -- Hawaii 10 (Blackett 4, Martin 2, Shimonovich 2, Kuebler, Carter), LaTech 13 (Powell 4, Dean 4, Allick 2, Young 2, Edwards).
A -- 2,679.
