FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
Hawaii's Kareem Nitoto went up to shoot under the basket while being guarded by Louisiana-Lafayette's Brandon Dison in the first half of their opening game in the Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic at the Stan Sheriff Center last night.
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Loss puts Hawaii in consolation bracket
A 10-day break raised the question of whether Hawaii would enter the Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic rested or rusty.
For much of last night's opening-round game against Louisiana-Lafayette, the latter certainly appeared to be the case, and a lackluster performance would cost the Rainbow Warriors a shot at defending their tournament title.
The Rainbows will have an early wake-up call tomorrow following a stunning 61-59 loss last night before a crowd of 3,583 at the Stan Sheriff Center.
The loss was Hawaii's first in the opening round of the 44th annual holiday tournament since 1995, when the Rainbows lost to Rhode Island, and banished them to tomorrow afternoon's consolation bracket.
The Rainbow Warriors, who hadn't played since beating Long Beach State on Dec. 9, creaked through the first 20 minutes to lead the Ragin' Cajuns 24-22. They continued to hold a slim lead until an 11-0 run gave Louisiana-Lafayette a four-point edge with 5:26 left.
Hawaii managed to tie the score with 1:34 left but sputtered down the stretch as Louisiana-Lafayette pulled down 20 offensive rebounds and pulled out the win.
"I'm not going to make any excuses; we just didn't get the job done," UH coach Bob Nash. "It's a simple thing of boxing people out and all that takes is effort and desire and we didn't get it done tonight. We had 10 days off, we should have been well-rested, so I don't make any excuses."
The Ragin' Cajuns (3-6) advance to face Ohio in a semifinal game at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow. The Rainbows (3-5) face St. John's at 11 a.m.
"We've dug this hole for ourselves. Now we just have to play and try to win the next game," Nash said. "It's not easy, but these guys have to get up and get ready to play."
The Rainbows struggled to find an offensive rhythm against a physical Louisiana-Lafayette defense, shooting 38 percent from the field, and were led by Matt Gibson and Riley Luettgerodt, who finished with 15 points each. Forward Bobby Nash finished with 10 points on 3-for-13 shooting and 10 rebounds.
Randell Daigle sparked Louisiana-Lafayette with 13 points, hitting three 3-pointers. La'Ryan Gary contributed 10. Elijah Millsap, the Ragin' Cajuns' leading scorer entering the game, went 0-for-11 from the field and finished with five points.
But he grabbed 11 rebounds, six off the offensive boards, and made a significant contribution on the other end of the court in hounding Nash.
Points came in a trickle for most of the first half with both teams struggling from the field.
Louisiana-Lafayette missed its first 10 shots from the field and didn't score until Travis Bureau hit a 3-pointer at the 14:41 mark.
Hawaii had its own troubles getting shots to fall and couldn't pull away in a first half in which the teams combined to shoot 30 percent (19-for-63) from the field and traded 19 turnovers. No player had more than six points in the first 20 minutes.
The shooting improved in the second half, but Hawaii couldn't pull away from the Ragin' Cajuns, who came back to take the lead with 6:15 left on two free throws by Gray at 51-49 to cap an 11-0 Louisiana-Lafayette run.
The first round continues today with Tulane playing Saint Mary's and East Tennessee State facing Georgia.
Ohio 71, St. John's 69
The tournament opened with one of the classic finishes in its history, as Leon Williams' layup with 0.2 seconds left sent the Bobcats (7-3) to the semifinals.
After St. John's guard Eugene Lawrence drilled a 3-pointer with 1.5 seconds left to tie the game, Ohio's Bubba Walther threw a length-of-the-court pass to Williams, who then scored the last of his game-high 24 points.
"That last play is something we practice," Ohio coach Tim O'Shea said. "Our philosophy is when the ball goes through the net, just get it out, throw it to the end zone and whoever is closest just run. And Leon and Bubba just connected beautifully.
Walther hit three 3-pointers and finished with 15 points. D.J. Kennedy led St. John's (4-3) with 17 points.
La.-Lafayette 61, Hawaii 59
RAGIN CAJUNS (3-6)
|
fg |
fga |
ft |
fta |
min |
reb |
a |
tp |
Gary |
2 |
6 |
6 |
9 |
30 |
4 |
0 |
10 |
Milson |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
24 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
Daigle |
4 |
12 |
2 |
2 |
29 |
0 |
5 |
13 |
Dees |
2 |
6 |
2 |
2 |
16 |
2 |
0 |
6 |
Millsap |
0 |
11 |
2 |
5 |
26 |
11 |
1 |
5 |
Johnson |
1 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
10 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
Bloom |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
Lago |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
Gradnigo |
4 |
10 |
0 |
0 |
16 |
1 |
0 |
9 |
Bureau |
1 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
17 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
Barksdale |
0 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
Wallace |
2 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
15 |
9 |
0 |
5 |
Dison |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
TEAM |
|
|
|
|
|
3 |
Totals |
18 |
59 |
20 |
33 |
200 |
42 |
7 |
61 |
RAINBOW WARRIORS (3-5)
|
fg |
fga |
ft |
fta |
min |
reb |
a |
tp |
Nash |
3 |
13 |
4 |
4 |
38 |
10 |
2 |
10 |
Amis |
3 |
6 |
0 |
1 |
33 |
8 |
1 |
6 |
Verwers |
2 |
4 |
2 |
3 |
22 |
4 |
1 |
6 |
Gibson |
5 |
11 |
4 |
5 |
33 |
4 |
3 |
15 |
Luettgerodt |
5 |
11 |
4 |
5 |
34 |
6 |
1 |
15 |
Nitoto |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Dillinger |
1 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
21 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
Owlsley |
2 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
13 |
4 |
1 |
4 |
TEAM |
|
|
|
|
|
4 |
|
Totals |
21 |
55 |
15 |
19 |
200 |
41 |
11 |
59 |
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 24, ULL 22
3-point goals -- ULL 5-15 (Daigle 3-10, Gradnigo 1-2, Bureau 1-2, Millsap 0-1), Hawaii 2-15 (Luettgerodt 1-4, Gibson 1-6, Dillinger 0-2, Nash 0-3). Personal fouls -- ULL 18, Hawaii 23.
Steals -- ULL 7 (Daigle 2, Millsap 2, Gary, Johnson, Gradnigo), Hawaii 2 (Gibson, Nitoto). Blocked shots -- ULL 2 (Gary, Dees), Hawaii 5 (Amis, Verwers, Nash). Turnovers -- ULL 13 (Daigle 2, Lago 2, Gradnigo 2, Wallace 2, Millson, Dees, Millsap, Bureau), Hawaii 19 (Gibson 7, Dillinger 3, Owlsley 2, Luettgerodt 2, Verwers 2, Nash 2, Amis).
Officials -- Scott Thornley, Lonnie Dixon, Tim Gabutero. A-- 6,099.