'Bows go for third road win of young season

UH's trip moves south for a game against Santa Clara

The Hawaii basketball team still has one more game left on its 11-day mainland excursion, but the trip has already proven educational.

Following a third-place finish in the Great Alaska Shootout, the Rainbow Warriors (4-2) headed south to the relative warmth of Northern California for tomorrow's nonconference game at Santa Clara.

"I think their identity is surfacing where if we come out and play hard and turn it up on defense we can be a really good basketball team," Wallace said after the Rainbows' practice on the San Jose State campus yesterday afternoon.

Tomorrow's game at Santa Clara's Leavey Center is a payback for the Broncos' trip to Honolulu last February.

The Rainbows can match their road victory total of last season with a win tomorrow. UH has won the last two meetings with Santa Clara, both in Hawaii.

The 'Bows climbed out of an early hole to beat the Broncos in the opening round of the 2003 EA Sports Maui Invitational and rallied from an eight-point halftime deficit for a 67-57 win last season.

"This is the first time we're going there," Wallace said. "So I'm sure they'll be looking for some payback."

Hawaii went 3-8 away from the Stan Sheriff Center last season and picked up two neutral-court wins last week in Anchorage.

Hawaii pulled out a one-point victory over Hofstra, went flat in a semifinal loss to California and bounced back with a 71-60 win over Pacific in Saturday's third-place game.

The Rainbows set the tone for their wins on the defensive end of the court and on the boards, winning the rebounding battle convincingly against Hofstra and Pacific. That edge went to California -- 37-31 -- in UH's loss, and the Golden Bears shot 54 percent in the first half en route to the semifinal win.

Matt Lojeski continues to lead the Rainbows with 17 points per game despite making just four of 19 3-point attempts this season. The 'Bows also benefited from solid play off the bench over the weekend with Dominic Waters (10 points, four assists against Cal), P.J. Owsley (10 points, six rebounds vs. Hofstra), Riley Luettgerodt (eight points vs. Pacific) and Todd Follmer (10 points vs. Cal) contributing significant minutes.

Tomorrow's game ends a three-game run of Western Athletic Conference opponents for Santa Clara. The Broncos (3-2) pushed defending WAC champion Nevada before losing 78-70 on Saturday and scored a 71-53 win over San Jose State last night.

"Their halfcourt sets are hard to defend," Wallace said. "But we'll have another practice (today) to get ready for it."

The Rainbows and Broncos have another common opponent in California. The Golden Bears beat Santa Clara 73-48 on Nov. 20 and defeated Hawaii 72-56 in the Great Alaska Shootout semifinals last Friday.

Sean Denison, a 6-foot-11 forward, paced Santa Clara through its first four games as the only Bronco averaging double-figure scoring with 17.8 ppg. Denison leads a sizable frontcourt that will test the Rainbows' post players, filling the stat sheet with 12 points and 13 rebounds last night.

Santa Clara coach Dick Davey, in his 14th season, has used his bench liberally as nine players averaged at least 11 minutes per game, with none playing more than 30 a matchup.

The Broncos have another big body in the post in 6-11, 305-pound sophomore John Bryant (eight points, 6.5 rebounds per game).

Notes: The Rainbows are scheduled to return to Honolulu Thursday afternoon. They next face UNLV on Dec. 5 at the Sheriff Center in a rematch of the Runnin' Rebels' season-opening win in Las Vegas. ... Santa Clara leads the series with UH 19-6, but Hawaii has won the last four meetings.