Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.
Saturday, March 11, 2000
Rainbows
go out in a blaze
of respect
Fresno State ends Hawaii's
By Pat Bigold
quest for the WAC title with a
nail-biting 103-100 double-
overtime victory
Star-BulletinFRESNO, Calif. - Remember the first "Rocky'' movie?
Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed knocked each other senseless in the middle of the ring but kept fighting, even when neither looked like he could deliver another blow.
That was last night's 103-100 double-overtime loss for the University of Hawaii to Fresno State in the semifinals of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament at Selland Arena.
It was a game that played to every human emotion and ended in a way that would make you think it was the finals of the NCAA tournament, as fans flooded the floor, jumped on every table and even invaded the postgame press conference.
"For me personally, it was one of the gutsiest efforts I've ever been involved with," said Hawaii head coach Riley Wallace. "I couldn't be prouder of my kids, and Tark can be proud of his."
The 203 points by both teams tied the WAC tournament record. Officials said the game will go down in the books as one of the most exciting in tournament history.
It was senior team captain Marquette Alexander's finest hour, even though he fouled out after being called for a charge on Bulldogs center Melvin Ely with 3:16 remaining in regulation.
"Tonight, Marquette was absolutely super,'' said Fresno State coach Jerry Tarkanian, whose team will meet nationally ranked Tulsa tonight in the final. "He scored every time he got the ball."
Alexander had scored 18 clutch points, grabbed nine rebounds and had three critical assists as the Rainbows threatened Fresno State's NCAA bid and supremacy in front of 9,668 fans.
Tarkanian said he'd been thinking Alexander would have trouble handling Ely.
"I thought we'd be OK, but Marquette sure went to work tonight,'' said Tarkanian, whose team improved to 23-9.
The Rainbows battled to an 82-82 tie at the end of regulation, despite losing both Alexander and Mike McIntyre, the team's best percentage 3-point shooter, to fouls. Troy Ostler, who finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds, was also playing in agony after incurring a back injury in a fight for possession with Terrance Roberson with 76 seconds left.
Then, with a lineup of Ostler, small forward Nerijus Puida, and guards Predrag Savovic, Geremy Robinson and Johnny White, the Rainbows somehow battled even for two overtime periods with a team that had blown them off the same floor six days earlier.
Only when Bulldog guard Demetrius Porter hit a 3-pointer as time ran out did Hawaii's storybook effort come to an end.
"I cried for 20 minutes in the locker room," said Savovic, who scored a team-high 21 points before fouling out with 30 seconds left.
"There were a lot of teary eyes in the locker room because this is a family," said senior Johnny White, who had 19 points. "We've been close all year but this brought us closer. I love everyone on this team."
It was a game that walk-on Tre Stovall will never forget.
He got his first basket cold-turkey as a Rainbow with nine seconds left in the second overtime while his stunned father, William, trained a video camera on him from the stands.
The basket tied the game at 100-100.
"I pump-faked and just tried to go up and get the foul," said Stovall, who grabbed the rebound of a missed Robinson 3-point attempt. "I didn't even know it tied the score. I thought we were down by three."
Wallace said he inserted Stovall because he's quick and can handle the ball well.
But in defeat, there may be victory for the Rainbows.
"We're on the board for the NIT," said Wallace. "The WAC commissioner (Karl Benson) said our numbers aren't good (17-11), and maybe that means he's not going to fight for us, I don't know. If they don't fight for it, we won't get it. But we're playing well now and we have to have someone to sell that."
The problem is that since Hawaii knocked Southern Methodist out of the NCAA picture by beating the Mustangs in the WAC quarterfinals, the NIT is faced with looking at taking two of three WAC teams: SMU, Texas Christian and Hawaii.
"SMU is definitely is going to get a NIT bid, so it will be between us and TCU," said Wallace.
Courtney Alexander was the story from the Fresno State side last night.
Having received fluids intravenously Thursday when he had a 103-degree fever, there was some question as to whether he would even dress last night. But the WAC player of the year did play - 46 minutes worth - and scored a team-high 27 points, even though he made only 8 of 22 attempts from the field.
Hawaii outrebounded Fresno State, 43-40, and committed only 17 turnovers to the Bulldogs' 18.
The difference was at the foul line, where the Rainbows were 15-of-18 while Fresno State made 27 of 34.
NIT ticket sales
The University of Hawaii has put in bids to host the first round of both the men's NIT and women's WNIT postseason tournaments.Should the Rainbows be awarded a berth tomorrow, season ticket holders and booster club members can purchase tickets from noon until 6 p.m. Monday and 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Stan Sheriff Center box office. General ticket sales will begin Wednesday at 8 a.m.
Prices are $7 for students, $10 for seniors and $14 for adults.
Should the Wahine be awarded a berth tomorrow, tickets will go on sale Tuesday for both season ticket holders and the general public at 8 a.m.
Ticket prices are $4 for students, $5 for seniors and $6 for adults
Fresno St. 103, Hawaii 100 (2OT)
Rainbows (17-12 overall)
FG FGA FT FTA REB A TP MIN Puida 2 4 0 0 1 2 4 20 Alexander 9 12 0 0 9 3 18 33 Ostler 5 10 3 4 11 0 13 46 Savovic 5 13 8 10 6 4 21 43 White 8 17 0 0 7 5 19 45 McIntyre 4 14 0 0 0 2 11 25 Stovall 1 1 0 0 1 2 2 1 Robinson 4 8 2 2 4 1 10 32 Fields 0 1 2 2 2 0 2 6 Team 2 Totals 38 80 15 18 43 19 100 250
Bulldogs (23-9 overall)
FG FGA FT FTA REB A TP MIN Abney 4 7 3 5 16 0 11 48 Roberson 7 16 3 4 7 4 23 48 Ely 8 10 6 8 6 2 22 42 Porter 6 11 5 6 2 8 20 44 Alexander 8 22 10 11 5 4 27 46 Irvin 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 6 Felix 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 DeManby 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 9 Team 3 Totals 33 67 27 34 40 20 103 250 Key--fg: field goals; fga: field goals attempted; ft: free throws; fta: free throws attempted; min: minutes; reb: rebounds; a: assists; tp: total points.
Halftime score-Fresno St. 45, Hawaii 42
3-point goals-Hawaii 9-21 (Savovic 3-5, White 3-8, McIntyre 3-9, Robinson 0-1), Fresno St. 10-32 (Roberson 6-13, Porter 3-7, Alexander 1-11). Personal fouls-Hawaii 28, Fresno St. 19. Fouled out-M. Alexander, Savovic, Ely. Steals-Hawaii 9 (Ostler 4, White 3, McIntyre 2), Fresno St. 11 (Porter 5, Roberson 3, Abney 2, Ely). Blocked shots-Hawaii 2 (White, Fields), Fresno St. 4 (Abney, Roberson, Ely, Felix). Turnovers-Hawaii 17, Fresno St. 18. Technicals-none. Officials-White, Ramos, Allen. A-9,668.
WAC CHAMPIONSHIPS
Men
SemifinalsFresno St. 103, Hawaii 100 (2 OT)
Tulsa 93, TCU 71
Women
SemifinalsRice 76, Hawaii 73
SMU 58, Tulsa 46
