RAINBOW BASKETBALL
FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
UH's Ahmet Gueye scored against the defense of San Jose State's Menelik Barbary last night.
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UH turns it up
After taking care of business against the bottom two teams in the Western Athletic Conference this week, the Hawaii basketball team suddenly finds itself approaching the top of the league standings.
The Rainbow Warriors (12-8, 6-4 WAC) remained perfect at home in conference play and moved to within a game of the WAC leaders with an 83-68 win over San Jose State last night at the Stan Sheriff Center.
After watching San Jose State (5-16, 1-7) erase a double-digit lead late in the first half, the Rainbows made nine of their first 11 shots after the break to reclaim control and eased to the win in front of a crowd of 5,006.
Along with starting the second half on fire from the field, the Rainbows turned up the heat on the defensive end to fuel their offensive surge.
"We were really mad at ourselves (at halftime)," said UH forward Ahmet Gueye, who had four of UH's 11 blocked shots. "We had a good run in the first half and they came back hard on us. ... We just had to pick it up on defense."
The Rainbows head back on the road this week just one game behind WAC leaders Louisiana Tech, Nevada and Utah State (all 7-3).
"If you don't win on the road you don't deserve to be in the championship," UH coach Riley Wallace said. "Now we have to prove we can win on the road."
Hawaii forward Julian Sensley scored 13 of his game-high 25 points in the first half, and drained a career-high five 3-point shots.
Gueye, a 57 percent free-throw shooter this season, went 9-for-9 from the line and finished with 19 points. Guards Deonte Tatum and Matt Lojeski contributed 10 points each for the Rainbows, who committed a season-low seven turnovers while dishing out 19 assists.
As a team, Hawaii, which entered the game last in the WAC in free-throw shooting, made 19 of 20 attempts last night.
"Free throws are huge because that was a big part of our losses, not making our free throws down the stretch," Sensley said.
Lojeski, UH's second-leading scorer, was questionable for the game due to an infected cut on his left leg. But he started and was able to play 27 minutes and helped energize the Rainbows with two 3-pointers during their second-half run. He also had six assists.
"He was a true warrior tonight," Wallace said. "You have to give him credit for even playing."
Guard Alex Elam led the Spartans with 21 points on 8-for-18 shooting.
With three UH big men getting into early foul trouble, the Rainbows played the final 2:51 of the half with four guards -- Dominic Waters, John Wilder, Deonte Tatum and Lojeski -- on the court with Sensley.
"It's just something we had to do," Sensley said. "When our big guys are in trouble we have to save them because we're going to need them in the second half."
The unusual combination struggled to score and the Spartans scored the last seven points of the half and tied the game at 33 when Elam knocked down a 3-pointer just before the buzzer.
The Spartans led briefly in the opening moments of the second half before UH made eight consecutive attempts from the field and two from the free-throw line to reclaim control.
"I think we did a great job of moving the ball," Sensley said. "Lojeski actually sparked us that second half when he hit those 3s. That was huge for us and everybody fed off that."
Hawaii made just two field goals in the game's final 6 minutes, but went 11-for-12 from the line to maintain a comfortable lead.
"It was a very competitive game and Hawaii put it on a level that we really couldn't match over that 8- or 9-minute stretch," SJSU coach George Nessman said.
The Rainbows head back to the mainland this week and play at Boise State on Saturday and Fresno State on Feb. 13.
Hawaii 83, San Jose State 68
Spartans (5-16, 1-7 WAC)
|
fg |
fga |
ft |
fta |
min |
reb |
a |
tp
|
Gardner |
0 |
3 |
3 |
5 |
22 |
2 |
2 |
3
|
Elam |
8 |
18 |
1 |
1 |
35 |
5 |
1 |
21
|
Spencer |
4 |
9 |
1 |
2 |
30 |
3 |
2 |
10
|
Brown |
4 |
13 |
4 |
5 |
25 |
3 |
0 |
12
|
Barbary |
1 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
11 |
1 |
1 |
3
|
Richardson |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Cozad |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Thomas |
2 |
5 |
1 |
2 |
22 |
5 |
0 |
5
|
K. Smith |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0+ |
0 |
0 |
0
|
J. Smith |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Fleming |
0 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
12 |
2 |
1 |
1
|
Holloway |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
4 |
0 |
0
|
Misko |
5 |
10 |
3 |
4 |
24 |
7 |
0 |
13
|
TEAM |
|
|
|
|
|
2
|
Totals |
24 |
65 |
15 |
22 |
200 |
34 |
7 |
68 |
Rainbow Warriors (12-8, 6-4 WAC)
|
fg |
fga |
ft |
fta |
min |
reb |
a |
tp
|
Gipson |
4 |
6 |
1 |
1 |
24 |
9 |
4 |
9
|
Lojeski |
4 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
27 |
3 |
6 |
10
|
Tatum |
3 |
9 |
4 |
4 |
34 |
2 |
2 |
10
|
Sensley |
9 |
15 |
2 |
2 |
40 |
9 |
3 |
25
|
Gueye |
5 |
11 |
9 |
9 |
31 |
7 |
3 |
19
|
Wilder |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Waters |
2 |
5 |
2 |
2 |
19 |
0 |
0 |
7
|
Miller |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0+ |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Botez |
1 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
16 |
5 |
1 |
3
|
TEAM |
|
|
|
|
|
3
|
Totals |
28 |
58 |
19 |
20 |
200 |
38 |
19 |
83 |
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 33, San Jose State 33.
3-point goals -- SJSU 5-12 (Elam 4-9, Spencer 1-1, Gardner 0-1, Richarson 0-1), Hawaii 8-15 (Sensley 5-8, Lojeski 2-4, Waters 1-2, Miller 0-1). Personal fouls -- SJSU 16, Hawaii 18.
Steals -- SJSU 1 (Spencer), Hawaii 1 (Tatum). Blocked shots -- SJSU 0, Hawaii 11 (Gueye 4, Gipson 2, Sensley 2, Botez 2, Lojeski). Turnovers -- SJSU 5 (Brown 2, Gardner, Spencer, Holloway), Hawaii 7 (Gipson 3, Gueye 2, Sensley, Botez). Officials -- Staffen, Allen, Giarratano. A -- 5,006.