RAINBOW BASKETBALL
TONY AVELAR / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-BULLETIN
Hawaii's Julian Sensley was mobbed by teammates after hitting the game-winning shot yesterday against San Jose State.
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’Bows steal 1 on road
Senior Julian Sensley hits the third game-winner of his UH career
By Damin Esper
Special to the Star-Bulletin
SAN JOSE » The call was 40-diagonal, where Hawaii would set screens to get the ball to center Ahmet Gueye on the block.
Next up
Vs. NMSU, Thursday
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Except San Jose State was locking down on defense.
So instead, the ball went to Julian Sensley about 25 feet out. Sensley turned, squared and buried a 3-pointer with 2.2 seconds left yesterday to lift the Rainbow Warriors to a 61-60 win over the Spartans in a Western Athletic Conference men's basketball game.
Sensley finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists, while Gueye had a team-high 19 points and eight rebounds. Matt Lojeski added 14 points and four blocks.
Sensley's shot gave Hawaii its only lead of the game. That might explain the Rainbows' reaction, which was much more relief than dancing on the court in celebration.
"When you only lead on the last shot, it's relief," Hawaii coach Riley Wallace said.
Wallace added that San Jose State was the better team yesterday.
"They deserved to win that ballgame," he said. "I'm not going to give it to them. But they played hard and deserved to win."
The Rainbows (16-9, 9-5 WAC) struggled to get going all day.
The game was tied 2-2 before the Spartans (6-22, 2-12) went ahead 5-2 on a Carlton Spencer 3-pointer just over 2 minutes in.
Hawaii made runs at San Jose State, cutting the margin to three a couple of times in the first half, and cutting it to one several times in the second half. The Spartans always had an answer.
At least until the final minute.
"It was a tough game," Gueye said. "We struggled a lot. We were starting to be frustrated."
Added Sensley, "Our shots weren't falling. And it seemed like everything they threw up went in."
But San Jose State, dropping six straight and 10 of 11, has had trouble finishing the deal this year.
The Spartans have lost eight games this year on the final possession, getting one tight win over Idaho. It's also the third consecutive game where they've had a double-digit lead in the first half only to lose.
It's getting a little tiring for first-year coach George Nessman, but guard Alex Elam said it shows progress for the program.
"It's a little more comforting to the seniors because this year we're actually in the game," said Elam, who shared team-high honors of 15 points with Spencer.
San Jose led 58-51 with 5:08 to go when Elam completed a 3-point play. Hawaii scored the next seven points to tie it ... but to call it a run is a stretch.
It took more than 4 minutes for the Rainbows to square things. Gueye fed Chris Botez in the middle of the lane for a two-handed dunk with 52.5 seconds left and a 58-58 tie.
Elam answered with a jumper for a 60-58 lead. On Hawaii's next possession, Elam stole the ball from Sensley and called a timeout while lying on the floor with Sensley still fighting for possession. The timeout was the Spartans' last one -- a factor that would come into play.
With 14.8 seconds to go, Spencer was fouled and missed the front end of the 1-and-1. Wallace called timeout and set up the final play ... for Gueye on the 40-diagonal.
The Spartan defense forced the change, with Sensley as the option.
Nessman said he couldn't have asked more of his defense.
"We executed well," he said. "Julian Sensley just made a big-time shot -- a fadeaway 25-footer.
"That's a hard shot to make. You can win a lot of games of H-O-R-S-E like that."
Sensley said his follow-through felt very good.
"I squared up and was able to get the shot off," he said, noting that it was his third game-winning shot at Hawaii.
Without a timeout, San Jose State had to inbound the ball. Spencer got it just shy of halfcourt and let fly. The ball bounced off the rim and the Rainbows escaped with a rare road victory, and their first back-to-back road wins in more than two years.
Hawaii, beating Idaho 70-66 on Wednesday, had not won consecutive games on the road since January 2004. The win was the Rainbows' sixth straight over San Jose State.
WAC Standings
|
WAC |
Overall
|
|
W |
L |
Pct. |
GB |
W |
L
|
Nevada |
11 |
3 |
.786 |
-- |
22 |
5
|
New Mexico State |
10 |
5 |
.667 |
1 1/2 |
15 |
12
|
Utah State |
9 |
5 |
.643 |
2 |
19 |
7
|
Hawaii |
9 |
5 |
.643 |
2 |
16 |
9
|
Louisiana Tech |
9 |
5 |
.643 |
2 |
17 |
11
|
Fresno State |
7 |
6 |
.538 |
3 1/2 |
14 |
11
|
Boise State |
5 |
9 |
.357 |
6 |
13 |
13
|
San Jose State |
2 |
12 |
.143 |
9 |
6 |
22
|
Idaho |
1 |
13 |
.071 |
10 |
4 |
22 |
Yesterday
Hawaii 61, San Jose State 60
New Mexico State 66, Idaho 50
Nevada 75, Utah State 57
Hawaii 61, San Jose State 60
Rainbow Warriors (16-9, 9-5 wac)
|
fg |
fga |
ft |
fta |
min |
reb |
a |
tp
|
Gipson |
1 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
26 |
2 |
2 |
2
|
Sensley |
5 |
13 |
0 |
0 |
40 |
7 |
4 |
13
|
Gueye |
8 |
15 |
3 |
5 |
34 |
8 |
1 |
19
|
Lojeski |
5 |
10 |
0 |
0 |
37 |
1 |
2 |
14
|
Tatum |
3 |
8 |
2 |
2 |
34 |
4 |
3 |
9
|
Waters |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
0
|
Thompson |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
0 |
2 |
0
|
Botez |
2 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
20 |
4 |
2 |
4 |
|
TEAM |
|
|
|
|
|
3
|
Totals |
24 |
55 |
5 |
8 |
200 |
30 |
17 |
61 |
Spartans (6-22, 2-12 wac)
|
fg |
fga |
ft |
fta |
min |
reb |
a |
tp
|
Cozad |
2 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
35 |
4 |
1 |
4
|
Brown |
4 |
12 |
1 |
3 |
35 |
8 |
4 |
9
|
Barbary |
1 |
3 |
0 |
2 |
13 |
4 |
0 |
2
|
Elam |
6 |
12 |
1 |
1 |
33 |
6 |
0 |
15
|
Spencer |
6 |
12 |
1 |
2 |
35 |
2 |
1 |
15
|
Richardson |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
1 |
0
|
Gardner |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
0
|
Thomas |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
2
|
Smith |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
0
|
Fleming |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
1 |
2
|
Holloway |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Misko |
4 |
7 |
3 |
5 |
25 |
6 |
0 |
11
|
TEAM |
|
|
|
|
|
4
|
Totals |
25 |
57 |
6 |
13 |
200 |
36 |
8 |
60 |
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 -- San Jose State 33, Hawaii 28
3-point goals -- Hawaii 8-15 (Lojeski 4-8, Sensley 3-5, Tatum 1-1, Thompson 0-1), SJSU 4-11 (Spencer 2-4, Elam 2-5, Richardson 0-1, Gardner 0-1). Personal fouls -- Hawaii 13, SJSU 9.
Steals -- Hawaii 6 (Lojeski 3, Tatum 2, Gueye), SJSU 8 (Brown 2, Elam 2, Spencer 2, Cozad, Misko). Blocked shots -- Hawaii 8 (Lojeski 4, Gipson 2, Gueye 2), SJSU 0. Turnovers -- Hawaii 13 (Gueye 4, Sensley 3, Lojeski 2, Tatum 2, Gipson, Waters), SJSU 12 (Brown 4, Spencer 4, Cozad, Barbary, Elam, TEAM). Officials -- Dixon, Giarratano, Cota. A -- 1,433.
Silverswords clinch PacWest crown
Chaminade used a late 10-0 run to pull away from Hawaii Pacific and clinch the Pacific West men's basketball title via a 99-88 victory at McCabe Gym. It is Chaminade's first PacWest crown since joining the conference in 1992.
The Silverswords, ranked sixth in the Division II West Regional poll, improved to 17-8 overall, 8-3 PacWest. Senior guard Chris Reaves scored 39 points, while junior guard Zach Whiting added 23 points and 11 rebounds.
Joseph Ison led the Sea Warriors (8-17, 3-7) with 23 points.
UH-Hilo 96, Brigham Young-Hawaii 93
Hilo's Justin Griffin scored 20 points, and teammate Joe Travis added 19 while helping limit BYUH's Austin Smylie to nine points last night in Hilo.
Smylie entered the game averaging 23 points and had not been held to single digits all season. Travis teamed with Alex Graham, who had 15 points and 10 rebounds, to quiet Smylie.
Eric Boyce and Sa Tanuvasa led BYUH with 17 points apiece.
Star-Bulletin staff