StarBulletin.com

Flemings finds his form


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POSTED: Sunday, December 14, 2008

Exceptional offensive execution led to Hawaii's first blowout win of the season. A career-high 37 points from Roderick Flemings helped, too.

               

     

 

 

                                       

               

             

             

               

               

             

         

       

Hawaii   

               

               

75

               

               

E. Wash.

               

               

55

               

        NEXT UP
Tomorrow vs. Chicago State

       

       

       

The Rainbow Warriors turned in a complete effort to beat Eastern Washington 75-55 last night at the Stan Sheriff Center. UH improved to 4-3 overall with its fourth straight home win.

Inclement weather led to a turnout of 2,906, a season-low for games played at 7 p.m. Absent regulars missed quite a performance.

Flemings scored 22 of Hawaii's 37 points in the second half, including 19 of the 'Bows' first 21 points, to put his team up 59-44. By then, all spunk had left the Eagles (6-3) of the Big Sky Conference.

“;I'm sure Flemings is in there feeling really good about himself right now,”; said Eastern Washington coach Kirk Earlywine. “;Nobody wearing a red uniform put up much of a fight.”;

Bill Amis added 11 points and three blocks, while Petras Balocka had nine points and seven rebounds as part of a 34-23 team advantage on the boards.

Flemings, who shot 16-for-23, left to a standing ovation with 2 minutes, 13 seconds left and his team up by 20.

The junior forward tied a Stan Sheriff Center record for scoring by a Hawaii player set first by Tes Whitlock in 1994 against Seton Hall. Bobby Nash had the last game of 30 or more points last year against Illinois.

Hawaii coach Bob Nash did his best to contain his pride about Flemings' night afterward, focusing on a season-high 18 assists against a season-low 12 turnovers. Nash called it “;a quiet 37 points.”;

“;I want to talk about my team,”; Nash said. “;I thought our guys did a nice job of running the offense. Obviously, Rod Flemings stepped up in a big way. He played extremely well ... as he gets into better shape (from a preseason ankle sprain) we hope he rounds into shape as he did tonight.”;

Flemings—whose previous Hawaii high was 22—scored on a variety of putbacks, layups, and pullup and curling jumpers. He even hit a 3-pointer that rattled in, out, and in again.

It was that kind of night.

“;Coach Nash is running some good plays to get me the ball in positions I like, and I was just knocking shots down,”; said Flemings, who contributed five offensive rebounds and four assists. “;My ankle's feeling good ... it's like 90, 95 percent now.”;

On another play in the second half, he missed two easy tip shots and hauled down the rebound in traffic for a much harder three-point play.

Behind a frontcourt attack of Flemings, Balocka, and Adhar Mayen, Hawaii built a 38-26 halftime advantage, its largest of the season.

The 'Bows trailed 13-9 when Eagles guard Benny Valentine came out firing, but UH responded with an 11-3 run spurred by seven points from Flemings. EWU never regained the lead after that.

Flemings had 15 at intermission on 6-for-9 shooting, while Balocka got the Rainbows going early with seven of the team's first nine points. Mayen showed a willingness to shoot from deep and extended the Eagles' defense with two treys in the first half.

Valentine led the Eagles with 14 points, 12 in the first half. He was held five points below his average, but grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds despite being the shortest player on the floor (5-7).

Once Hawaii went to a zone defense a few minutes into the game, EWU struggled to generate offense. Valentine's drive-and-kick game started getting swallowed up and the Rainbows effectively mixed defenses to fluster the visitors.

EWU showed some energy coming out of the break as the Eagles went on a 7-0 run to pull within 38-33.

“;We cut it to (five), then lost our minds,”; Earlywine said. “;Gave away possessions on both ends of the floor.”;

It didn't help that Flemings nearly outscored the Eagles single-handedly in the second half.

Reserve forward Ji Xiang scored his first career points with two free throws to put Hawaii up 73-52 in garbage time.

Hawaii takes on Chicago State tomorrow at 7:05 p.m. at the Stan Sheriff Center.

 

Hawaii 75, Eastern Washington 55

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

     

     

       

     

     

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

     

     

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

     

     

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

     

     

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

     

     

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

     

     

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

     

     

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

     

     

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

     

     

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

     

     

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

     

     

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

     

     

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

     

     

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

     

     

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

     

     

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

     

     

       

       

       

       

     

     

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

     

 

 

Eagles (6-3)

fg-aft-arbpfptsatomin
Genao1-20-03321023
Dunn3-31-42281133
Moore5-70-013100320
Valentine6-150-0121145630
Stanojevic3-50-00291322
Busch0-23-30131011
DeLeon1-50-00332212
Christensen0-12-41120013
Gibson0-02-4112015
Gross1-30-00120116
Brunell0-20-00200015
Team

3
Totals20-458-152320551117200

 

       

Rainbow Warriors (4-3)

fg-a ft-a rb pf pts a to min
Mayen 3-6 0-0 3 2 8 2 2 25
Amis 4-9 3-3 4 3 11 0 2 36
Balocka 2-5 5-8 7 2 9 3 1 27
Nitoto 1-5 0-0 3 0 2 2 1 27
Flemings 16-23 4-6 5 2 37 4 2 34
Thompson -0 0-0 0 1 0 0 1 6
Parghalava 0-1 2-2 2 1 2 5 0 17
Fitzgerald 0-1 0-0 0 1 0 0 0 2
Xiang 0-0 2-2 2 3 2 0 1 2
Albrechtson 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Lutu 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 5
Campbell 1-3 0-0 2 3 2 2 1 13
Adams 0-0 2-2 0 0 2 0 0 2
Jespersen 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 1 3
Totals

6
Totals 27-53 18-23 34 18 75 18 12 200

Key—fg-a: field goals made-attempted; ft-a: free throws made-attempted; rb: rebounds; pf: personal fould; pts: total points; a: assists; to: turnovers; min: minutes played.
Halftime—Hawaii 38, Eastern Washington 26. Regulation—Hawaii 75, Eastern Washington 55.
3-point goals—Eastern Washington 7-16 (Stanojevic 3-4, Valentine 2-5, Dunn 1-1, DeLeon 1-4, Gross 0-1, Busch 0-1), Hawaii 3-10 (Mayen 2-4, Flemings 1-3, Amis 0-1, Balocka 0-1, Parghalava 0-1).
Steals—Eastern Washington 7(Stanojevic 2, DeLeon 2, Gross 2, Valentine), Hawaii 3 (Amis, Balocka, Flemings). Blocked shots—Eastern Washington none, Hawaii 4 (Amis 3, Nitoto).
Officials—Mike Littlewood, Jim Stupin, Bryan Barr. Attendance—2,906.