RAINBOW BASKETBALL
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Santa Clara's Brandon Rohe and Brody Angley watched Hawaii's Matt Lojeski take one of his 14 shots yesterday.
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Rainbows come back on Broncos
UH trailed by 12 in the first half and used Sensley's 16 straight points to overcome Santa Clara
Different island, same story.
When Hawaii and Santa Clara met back in 2003, the Rainbow Warriors fell behind early before earning a double-digit win on Maui.
Next Up Vs. Idaho, Wednesday
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The Rainbows followed a similar script last night in rallying from a 12-point first-half deficit to score a 67-57 victory over the Broncos in a nonconference game at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Hawaii forward Julian Sensley thrilled the crowd of 5,126 with a scintillating second-half performance, scoring 20 of his game-high 25 points to spur UH (14-9) to the win.
Sensley shot 9-for-16 from the field, going 5-for-6 from 3-point range, and scored 16 straight points for UH during a decisive second-half stretch.
"I was getting a good feel on the ball," Sensley said. "My teammates did a good job of getting me open and getting me the ball in the right places and I was just able to finish."
Sensley said he didn't remember much about the previous game against Santa Clara -- when he scored 12 points in his second outing as a Rainbow Warrior -- but his performance last night left an impression on the Broncos.
"He got it going and got a good rhythm and we didn't guard him as well as we needed to. That's a credit to him. He did a good job when the chips were on the line," Santa Clara coach Dick Davey said.
The win was the Rainbows' fourth in their last five games and extended their winning streak at the Sheriff Center to six.
Santa Clara's struggles continued as the Broncos (9-15) have lost 10 of their last 11.
Last night's game was the first meeting between the programs since UH came back from a 12-0 deficit to win 56-43 in the first round of the 2003 Maui Invitational.
The rematch started much the same way, as a 7-minute UH scoring drought allowed Santa Clara to open up a 12-point first-half cushion, and the Broncos led 32-24 at the break.
"Boy, was that first half ugly," UH coach Riley Wallace said.
"We weren't ready to play at the level they were. There was no ranting or raving by anybody at halftime; we just called on their pride."
The Rainbows responded by shooting 57 percent (16-for-28) after halftime while holding Santa Clara to 30 percent (8-for-27). After erasing the deficit, UH held the Broncos without a field goal over the final 6:55 to seal the win.
UH guard Matt Lojeski complemented Sensley with 16 points, and forward Ahmet Gueye added 12 points and 11 rebounds. Guard Deonte Tatum scored 12 points and dished out eight assists.
The Broncos relied on the inside scoring of forward Travis Niesen (24 points, 10 rebounds) to build their lead, but the Broncos went cold from outside in the second half and UH was able to contain Niesen.
"We played more physical with him and switched a lot with all the bigs," Gueye said.
Niesen had nine points in the first 5:30 of the game and had 15 at the break. His putback gave Santa Clara its biggest lead at 30-18.
After Sensley's 3-pointer from the right wing with 48 seconds left sent UH into halftime down by eight, Santa Clara went back up by 10 early in the second half.
UH chipped away and took the lead when Sensley took over.
With the Rainbows trailing 43-37, Sensley drained three straight 3-pointers and gave UH its first lead at 48-47 with two free throws with 9:18 left.
When Santa Clara reclaimed a one-point lead, Sensley spun around a defender and soared for a one-handed dunk. His fourth 3-pointer of the run stretched the Rainbows' lead to 53-49 at the 7:16 mark.
The Broncos got back within a point on a Brandon Rohe trey from the corner. That turned out to be the Broncos' last field goal and Tatum responded with his second 3-pointer of the game to keep the momentum on UH's side.
"I think we were a little too energetic the first half. We were coming down and just throwing up shots instead of getting into our offense, which is what we're best at," Sensley said. "The second half we slowed things down and tried to find better shots."
The Rainbows depart on their final regular-season road trip today and resume Western Athletic Conference play Wednesday at Idaho.
Hawaii 67, Santa Clara 57
Broncos (9-15)
|
fg |
fga |
ft |
fta |
min |
reb |
a |
tp
|
Angley |
3 |
10 |
0 |
0 |
35 |
1 |
5 |
7
|
Rohe |
4 |
13 |
2 |
2 |
34 |
3 |
1 |
13
|
Denison |
4 |
10 |
3 |
3 |
33 |
6 |
1 |
11
|
Henke |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
33 |
3 |
2 |
0
|
Niesen |
10 |
20 |
4 |
7 |
36 |
10 |
0 |
24
|
Burke |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
10 |
1 |
0 |
0
|
Sammet |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
0
|
Daniel |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
0
|
Bryant |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
12 |
5 |
2 |
2
|
TEAM |
|
|
|
|
|
3
|
Totals |
22 |
59 |
9 |
12 |
200 |
34 |
11 |
57 |
Rainbow Warriors (14-9)
|
fg |
fga |
ft |
fta |
min |
reb |
a |
tp
|
Gipson |
1 |
3 |
0 |
2 |
30 |
2 |
0 |
2
|
Lojeski |
6 |
14 |
1 |
1 |
38 |
2 |
3 |
16
|
Tatum |
4 |
8 |
2 |
4 |
35 |
5 |
8 |
12
|
Sensley |
9 |
16 |
2 |
2 |
39 |
7 |
4 |
25
|
Gueye |
6 |
8 |
0 |
1 |
37 |
11 |
2 |
12
|
Wilder |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Waters |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Thompson |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Botez |
0 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
13 |
2 |
1 |
0
|
TEAM |
|
|
|
|
|
5
|
Totals |
26 |
52 |
5 |
11 |
200 |
34 |
18 |
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 -- Santa Clara 32, Hawaii 24
3-point goals -- Santa Clara 4-14 (Rohe 3-7, Angley 1-3, Henke 0-1, Niesen 0-3), Hawaii 10-20 (Sensley 5-6, Lojeski 3-9, Tatum 2-4, Wilder 0-1). Personal fouls -- Santa Clara 14, Hawaii 10.
Steals -- Santa Clara 4 (Angley 2, Henke 2), Hawaii 5 (Tatum 2, Gipson, Sensley, Thompson). Blocked shots -- Santa Clara 1 (Denison), Hawaii 5 (Gueye 2, Botez 2, Sensley). Turnovers -- Santa Clara 8 (Henke 3, Angley, Rohe, Niesen, Burke, Bryant), Hawaii 11 (Tatum 3, Sensley 3, Gueye 2, Botez 2, Gipson). Officials -- Richardson, Rood, Batsell. A -- 7,136.