RAINBOW WARRIOR BASKETBALL
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Hawaii's Matt Gibson went up for a basket as UNLV's Dustin Villepigue attempted to block the shot in the second half.
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Rebels smother Rainbows
UNLV's tough defense and Hawaii's poor free-throw shooting lead to heartbreak
LAS VEGAS, Nev. » In a city where the odds always favor the house it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that Hawaii could -- and did -- go bust.
Zeros were not a good combination, not when it meant senior Julian Sensley went scoreless for the first time in his collegiate career. And not when a team full of shooters hit nothing from 3-point range until there were 8.7 seconds left last night, finishing 1-for-17.
UNLV - 67
HAWAII - 61
NEXT UP
vs. Saint Louis, Saturday
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The only thing the Rainbow Warriors (1-1) can hope for is that what happened in Vegas stays in Vegas. And that they can learn quickly from the mistakes that led to a 67-61 loss against UNLV at the Thomas & Mack Center.
"They had a great game plan for us," said Hawaii senior forward Matthew Gipson, finishing with 16 points and 12 rebounds. "They had great pressure. We couldn't get into our offense, couldn't get it started.
"Michigan State didn't get in our face like (UNLV) did. We haven't seen that kind of pressure. We can't blame it on the elements, the dry air, the dead spots on the floor. It was just a poor job of executing. They outplayed us."
The Runnin' Rebels (2-0) got a huge game from senior forward Louis Amundson, tying his career high of 22 points and adding 21 rebounds. Nineteen of those boards came in the second half, 10 on the defensive end, to help UNLV deny Hawaii any second-chance shots.
Ultimately what killed the Rainbows was their inability to hit free throws. Hawaii went 6-for-18 from the line, including 1-for-6 in the final 4:45. Three of those attempts were front ends of 1-and-1 situations.
Junior forward Ahmet Gueye could have added to his career-high 21 points had he been more successful from the line. He hit just one of five during a 2-minute span that could have helped the Rainbows get closer than 60-56.
"We're a better free-throw shooting team than that," Hawaii coach Riley Wallace said. "We stayed with them, and if we could have hit the free throws ...
"Our (poor) 3-point shooting was because of their defense. But UNLV wasn't much better (3-for-20), so that was a push to me. Julian never got the feel of the game. What else can I say?"
Sensley had 20 points in Saturday's huge 84-62 win over No. 4 Michigan State. He didn't hit on any of his 11 shots yesterday, six of those from 3-point range, and sat out for much of the second half.
"It's always tough, sitting there with a donut, zeroes across the board," Sensley said. "They gave us a different look and when a team takes you out of your offense, you ended up putting up shots you're not used to taking. But we couldn't hit free throws, either.
"The turnovers (19) happened because of their pressure and our frustration. They were not letting us do what we wanted to do. We panicked a little. And we didn't get key rebounds. Their guy (Amundson) had 22. You can't let that happen if you want to win ballgames."
Hawaii has a long flight back today before taking on Saint Louis on Saturday at the Stan Sheriff Center. The Rainbows have a return engagement with the Rebels Dec. 6.
"We have to deal with the loss, get on a plane and focus on the next game," Sensley added. "We see these guys again in a week. We've got to prepare for them and learn from our mistakes."
One remedy would be to avoid a scoring drought like the one that happened late in the second half. Gueye's final basket brought Hawaii to within 56-55 with 7:46 left. The Rainbows didn't hit another field goal until Gipson's shot with 35.4 seconds to go.
Among Hawaii's 19 turnovers was a crucial travel call on Matt Lojeski on a breakaway dunk with about 7 minutes to go that would have put the Rainbows ahead at 57-56.
"I thought it was just two steps," said Lojeski, who had 10 points. "I didn't think it was a travel and I don't know why they made the call.
"It just wasn't our night. Our shots weren't falling; we scored 22 points in the second half. Julian, our go-to guy, had a rough night. And UNLV played good defense, there was no space at all. Hopefully, this all won't happen again."
Although coming away with a win, UNLV coach Lon Kruger said he expects to see a different Rainbow team when coming to Honolulu next week.
"This was a very good win for us," he said. "It was a hard-fought game and I have a lot of respect for what Hawaii is doing. We need to continue to work hard over the next few days before we see them again."
UNLV hosts Nevada on Saturday then begins a four-game road trip. The Rebels are at Oklahoma State next Wednesday, at Oregon State on Dec. 3, Hawaii on Dec. 6 and Minnesota on Dec. 10.
UNLV 67, Hawaii 61
RAINBOW WARRIORS (1-1)
|
fg |
fga |
ft |
fta |
min |
reb |
a |
tp |
Gipson |
7 |
13 |
2 |
3 |
27 |
12 |
2 |
16 |
Sensley |
0 |
11 |
0 |
0 |
29 |
4 |
4 |
0 |
Gueye |
10 |
12 |
1 |
5 |
34 |
7 |
1 |
21 |
Lojeski |
4 |
8 |
1 |
2 |
37 |
5 |
1 |
10 |
Tatum |
2 |
7 |
1 |
3 |
34 |
4 |
0 |
5 |
Gibson |
0 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
9 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
Nash |
1 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
14 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
Botez |
3 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
16 |
6 |
0 |
6 |
TEAM |
|
|
|
|
|
5 |
Totals |
27 |
61 |
6 |
18 |
200 |
43 |
9 |
61 |
REBELS (2-0)
|
fg |
fga |
ft |
fta |
min |
reb |
a |
tp |
Amundson |
8 |
18 |
6 |
10 |
36 |
21 |
2 |
22 |
Villepigue |
5 |
6 |
1 |
1 |
21 |
5 |
0 |
11 |
Umeh |
4 |
16 |
0 |
0 |
32 |
2 |
4 |
9 |
Morgan |
1 |
2 |
3 |
6 |
23 |
2 |
2 |
6 |
Petrimoulx |
1 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
22 |
3 |
3 |
12 |
Adams |
3 |
9 |
2 |
2 |
17 |
1 |
3 |
9 |
Rougeau |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
10 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
Terry |
1 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
24 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
Johnson |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Darger |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Essengue |
2 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
12 |
3 |
0 |
4 |
TEAM |
|
|
|
|
|
4 |
Totals |
26 |
68 |
12 |
20 |
200 |
44 |
15 |
67 |
Key -- fg: field goals made; fga: field goals attempted; ft: free throws made; fta: free throws attempted; min: minutes played; reb: rebounds; a: assists; tp: total points.
Halftime -- Hawaii 44, UNLV 39
3-point goals -- Hawaii 1-17 (Lojeski 1-3, Gibson 0-1, Tatum 0-1, Gipson 0-2, Nash 0-4, Sensley 0-6), UNLV 3-20 (Morgan 1-2, Adams 1-4, Umeh 1-8, Petrimoulx 0-3, Terry 0-3). Personal fouls -- Hawaii 19, UNLV 15. Fouled out -- none.
Steals -- Hawaii 6 (Lojeski 2, Gibson, Gipson, Nash, Tatum), UNLV 11 (Adams 4, Amundson 2, Umeh 2, Villepigue 2, Rougeau). Blocked shots -- Hawaii 3 (Botez, Gipson, Gueye). Turnovers -- Hawaii 19 (Tatum 5, Gibson 4, Gueye 3, Gipson 2, Nash 2, Botez, Lojeski, Sensley), UNLV 14 (Morgan 4, Petrimoulx 2, Umeh 2, Adams, Amundson, Essengue, Rougeau, Terry, Villepigue). Officials -- David Hall, Tom O'Neill, Greg Burks. A -- 12,108.