Monday, November 29, 1999
Reserves help carry
By Pat Bigold
Rainbows past VMI
Star-BulletinYes, it's been two years since the Hawaii men's basketball team won a nonconference tournament.
And, no, last night's 78-61 come-from-behind win over Virginia Military Institute before 3,329 fans at the Stan Sheriff Center in the finals of the United Airlines Tip-off Tournament does not compare with the 76-65 upset of nationally ranked Kansas in the finals of the 1997 Rainbow Classic.
But the win taught this season's Rainbows something about their mettle beyond the starting lineup.
They learned how to take a beating and come up ticking.
"I think it may have helped them get some heart, which the team needs down the stretch," said head coach Riley Wallace, who earned his 200th career win.
"They won it with their defense."
Hawaii scored 14 points off 10 VMI turnovers in the second half.
The Rainbows shot 40 percent (9-for-22), committed 15 turnovers and trailed, 37-29, after the first half.
But they improved to an amazing 82 percent (23-for-28) shooting in the second half with seven turnovers.
"We'd stopped running in the first half, but in the second half, we picked up our defense, starting with Mike McIntyre right up on the front end of it, and they followed him," said Wallace.
"We started getting some steals, some boards, some outlet passes, some fast break points. Once we caught up, that energy level we needed was there."
The Rainbows (3-1) were depleted and bruised when they rallied from a seven-point deficit (56-49) with a 29-5 run in the final eight minutes and 48 seconds.
The Hawaii starter many say is least expendable, energizer guard Predrag Savovic, left the game with a strained right arch early in the first half and never returned.
Season rebound leader Bernard McIntosh had to sit halfway through the second half with four fouls.
And, with VMI (3-2) ahead, 54-49, the team's only true point guard, Johnny White, also was hit with his fourth foul and had to sit.
That left Wallace with three starters -- junior forward Troy Ostler, senior team captain and center Marquette Alexander and junior forward Nerijus Puida -- and two reserves no one would have pegged for heroes.
The Keydets were out-muscling the shafty 6-foot-9, 210-pound Ostler under the glass until he put his foot down in the 8:48 home stretch, scoring 10 points, grabbing three rebounds and making one steal.
"They were really physical and good boxing out and in the first half we got our butts kicked," said Ostler who finished with the season's first double-double (19 points and 13 rebounds).
"But in the second half, we'd learned our lesson and we knew we had to be more physical to win. I knew I had to step up on defense. They were getting around my box-outs, pushing me around. But in the second half, I tried to be more the aggressor."
Senior shooting guard Geremy Robinson and sophomore backup point guard Mike McIntyre, who usually see limited action, did what Savovic and White were ordained to do in the clutch.
They executed without turning the ball over. Robinson (who was voted tournament MVP) scored four of his 11 points and made two assists while McIntyre hit a killer 3-pointer (assisted by Robinson) to give Hawaii a 66-58 lead with 3:55 left. He also made two assists.
McIntyre's second assist came on a break to Puida who went in with the layup that put Hawaii ahead for the first time in the game, 57-56, with 6:36 remaining.
"I felt a little pressure, but pressure makes you want it more," said Robinson. "I just used my skills and my mind and sucked it up on defense."
"In the second half, we just decided we weren't going to allow a recurrence of last season where we just dropped our heads and let people blow by us one on one. Savo got hurt and Johnny got into foul trouble so we were the guys who had to step up, and we acccepted the challenge," McIntyre said.
"They (Hawaii) feed on the crowd and once they got going, they were like a locomotive going downhill," said VMI head coach Bart Bellairs. "Their athleticism just wore us out."
Hawaii will play Prairie View A&M Saturday on the opening day of the Hawaii Invitational. Pacific and Tennessee State play in a 5 p.m. game that day.
Hawaii 78, VMI 61 United Airlines
Tip-off Tournament
fg fga ft fta min reb a tp Richardson 5 11 0 1 24 1 0 10 Quarles 7 15 2 3 36 1 2 19 Bruce 3 5 2 2 31 4 0 11 Mann 1 5 0 0 30 9 2 2 Demory 2 5 2 4 35 3 5 7 Phillips 0 0 1 2 4 0 0 1 Harper 0 0 0 0 9 1 0 0 Adam Trombley 0 3 2 2 10 4 2 2 Aaron Trombley 3 10 0 0 21 3 2 9 Team 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 Totals 21 54 9 14 200 30 13 61Rainbows (3-1)
fg fga ft fta min reb a tp Savovic 0 1 0 0 5 0 0 0 White 4 5 2 4 17 1 2 10 Puida 3 4 0 0 33 3 8 6 Ostler 8 12 3 6 36 13 1 19 Alexander 9 13 0 0 26 4 4 18 McIntyre 2 3 1 2 26 2 2 7 McIntosh 1 2 2 4 12 2 1 4 Robinson 4 9 3 4 32 3 5 11 O’Connor 1 1 0 0 7 0 1 3 Fields 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 Team 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 Totals 32 50 11 20 200 30 24 78Key--fg: field goals; fga: field goals attempted; ft: free throws; fta: free throws attempted; min: minutes; reb: rebounds; a: assists; tp: total points.Halftime-VMI 37, Hawaii 29.
3-point goals--VMI 10-26 (Bruce 3-5, Quarles 3-7, Aaron Trombley 3-7, Demory 1-2, Richardson 0-2, Adam Trombley 0-3); UH 3-4 (McIntyre 2-3, O'Connor 1-1). Personal fouls--VMI 30, UH 20. Fouled out--None. Steals--VMI 5, UH 11 (Robinson 3, Alexander 3). Blocked shots--VMI 0, UH 3. Turnovers--VMI 28, UH 22. Officials--Charles Range, David Maracich, Tom Yoshida. A-6,392.
