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Monday, January 31, 2000
Savovic rebounds
By Pat Bigold
to give UH the win
Star-BulletinFive of Hawaii's last six wins were by an average of 3.4 points, and the most recent victory came in overtime.
What that means is that the Rainbows have been getting a lot of gut checks lately.
And they wouldn't be 3-3 in the Western Athletic Conference and 14-5 overall if they weren't passing most of them.
On Saturday night, Hawaii had to go into overtime to beat one of the stingiest defenses in the NCAA, San Jose State, 84-75, before 5,155 fans at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Senior center Marquette Alexander backboned the win, playing 43 of the 45 minutes and earning his second double-double of the season (20 points, 10 rebounds) on his 22nd birthday.
But it came down to the man who so often seems to be standing 15 feet down the lane with the game in his hands as the seconds tick away.
Sophomore guard Predrag Savovic added to his fan following by coolly sinking critical last-minute free throws in victories against Rice on the road, and Colorado and Oregon in the Rainbow Classic.
But with the score tied at 67-67 with 3.2 seconds left in regulation time two nights ago, Savovic clanked two free throws off the rim.
It was bad enough that Hawaii had blown a 10-point second-half lead. When "Savo," the Rainbow's iceman (78 percent free throw shooter), couldn't pull it out, things looked desperate for the Rainbows.
A weaker personality would have carried the two misses like two anchors into overtime. But not the unflappable Savovic.
"It didn't bother him at all," said Hawaii head coach Riley Wallace, shaking his head. "He's got a strong head."
Savovic found himself back at the scene of his crime with 52 seconds left in OT with his team holding a precarious 74-72 lead. There were no nervous bounces and no prayers. Just two quick conversions to make it 76-72.
Then two more with 32 seconds left to make it 78-72. Two more with 20 seconds left to make it 80-72. And finally, two more with 13 seconds left to make it 82-75.
"Some guys would let something like that (missed free throws) bother them for the next two or three games," said Wallace. "But Savo just laughs it off. He might be 10-for-10 the next game."
Against San Jose State (11-9, 2-3 WAC), Savovic went 10-for-12 at the line and had 15 points.
The Spartans allowed Hawaii to get to the line for 45 chances and the Rainbows converted 35 of them.
Meanwhile, San Jose State made only 15 of its 29 free throws.
Hawaii will continue its three-game homestand on Thursday when it takes on Texas-El Paso (11-8, 2-4). On Saturday, Courtney Alexander and Fresno State (14-7, 4-1) will be in town.
WAC men
Conference Overall W L Pct. W L Pct. Tulsa 5 1 .833 20 2 .909 Fresno State 4 1 .800 14 7 .667 SMU 4 2 .667 16 4 .800 Hawaii 3 3 .500 14 5 .737 TCU 3 3 .500 12 10 .545 San Jose State 2 3 .400 11 9 .550 UTEP 2 4 .333 11 8 .579 Rice 0 6 .000 4 13 .235
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
