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Wednesday, November 22, 2000
Arizona, Illinois LAHAINA -- Arizona's two other trips to Maui ended with a runner-up finish. The top-ranked Wildcats have a chance to leave with a championship this time.
in Maui final
The top-ranked Wildcats hope
a third time in the championship
game will be the charmUNLV blasts Chaminade at finish
By Jim O'Connell
Associated PressIn 1993, Kentucky beat Arizona on a last-second tip-in to win the Maui Invitational. The Wildcats were also ranked No. 1 in 1997, but they couldn't overcome Duke's big early lead and lost.
Tonight, it will be No. 8 Illinois standing in the Wildcats' path.
"Maybe the third time will be the charm, but it's going to take a great effort," Arizona coach Lute Olson said.
The Wildcats (2-0) beat Dayton, 76-59, yesterday after the Fighting Illini (3-0) defeated No. 6 Maryland, 90-80 in the other semifinal.
"The great fields and the chance to play these caliber teams are why you come to a tournament like this," said first-year Illinois coach Bill Self.
In the fifth-place game, No. 12 Connecticut, which beat Chaminade, 77-61, yesterday, will play Louisville, which beat UNLV, 86-85, in overtime.
The Wildcats will again play without preseason All-America center Loren Woods, who was suspended for six games for undisclosed NCAA rules violations. In the wins over Chaminade and Dayton he wasn't really missed, but Illinois and its front line that dominated Maryland is another story.
"Illinois is physical and a tall team," Arizona reserve forward Eugene Edgerson said. "We'll have our work cut out for us and we'll have to play with a lot of poise."
Michael Wright, who set a tournament record with 19 rebounds in the opening round, had 18 points and 13 rebounds against Dayton, while Gilbert Arenas also had 18 points. Both scored 14 points in the second half as Arizona pulled away from a 37-28 halftime lead.
"We really came out and created some problems early in the second half and we got some quick opportunities," Olson said.
The Wildcats got the lead to 20 for the first time on a fast-break dunk by Arenas with 14:44 left that made it 52-32. The closest Dayton got the rest of the way was 59-45 with 9:39 to play.
Tony Stanley led Dayton (1-1) with 13 points, while senior center Yuanta Holland, who had a career-high 24 points in the 80-66 first-round win over Connecticut, had eight on 4-for-10 shooting.
"We certainly didn't do as well as we did yesterday and Arizona had a lot to do with that," Dayton coach Oliver Purnell said. "Our guards turned the ball over too much and allowed them easy baskets. They don't need easy baskets, and when you give them to them they get a margin on you and then go inside."
Illinois 90, Maryland 80:
The No. 8 Fighting Illini won the season's first matchup of Top Ten teams because its front line dominated No. 6 Maryland's.Center Marcus Griffin had 19 points and eight rebounds, Brian Cook had 11 points and nine rebounds, and Sergio McClain had 10 points and 10 rebounds as Illinois finished with a 55-37 advantage on the boards.
"I don't think the team has ever rebounded better, but all I know is I made a conscious effort to go to the glass," Griffin said. "It wasn't just the bigs. The guards were going to the glass."
Sophomore guard Frank Williams added 21 points for Illinois.
Lonny Baxter had 17 points for Maryland and Terence Morris added 13.
"You sure it was only 18?" Maryland coach Gary Williams asked about the rebound difference. "It was just a joke there for a while how they dominated. We shouldn't get outrebounded by 18 this year. Their effort was better and they made us take some quick shots."
Connecticut 77, Chaminade 61:
Albert Mouring had 20 points and Johnnie Selvie added 18 points and nine rebounds for the No. 12 Huskies (2-1).The Chaminade game was Connecticut's last without starters Caron Butler and Souleymane Wane. Both were suspended for three games for NCAA violations. The 6-foot-11 Wane will definitely return today, but Butler's status was still up in the air as the freshman swingman recovers from a sprained ankle.
"Time will tell about the addition of Caron and Souleymane," Huskies coach Jim Calhoun said. "I know Souleymane will give us legitimate size in the paint and we need that. We're not defending in the post and we're not playing with confidence. We haven't played like a good team and we should be because we are a good team."
Connecticut closed the first half with a 12-4 run to take a 42-29 lead, and Chaminade (0-2) was never closer than 11 in the second half.
Robert Watson had 20 points for the Silverswords, who lost for the 23rd consecutive time in the tournament they serve as host.
LAHAINA -- Kaspars Kambala had 29 points and 15 rebounds as UNLV beat Chaminade, 90-78, today in the seventh-place game of the Maui Invitational, the Silverswords' 24th consecutive loss in their tournament. UNLV blasts
Chaminade to finish
seventh on MauiAssociated Press
Kambala, a 6-foot-9 senior center, scored 80 points in the three games in the tournament, including a career-high 37 in the 86-85 overtime loss to Louisville in the consolation round.
UNLV (2-2) seemed to have the game in control midway through the second half as Kambala started dominating inside against Chaminade's matchup zone, especially when 6-6 Robert Watson, a transfer from Western Michigan, picked up his fourth foul.
Kambala scored 11 points in a 20-7 run -- including seven of the last 11 inside -- that gave the Runnin' Rebels a 68-54 lead with 8:33 to play.
Chaminade (0-3) took advantage of some poor free throw shooting by UNLV to get back within 84-78 with 1:09 left on a reverse layup by Jaborri Thomas. But the Runnin' Rebels, who had missed seven of their last 10 free throws, went 6-for-6 from the line over the final 51 seconds to seal the win.
Kambala was 24-for-41 from the field and 32-for-34 from the foul line and had 25 rebounds in the three games.
Trevor Diggs and Jermaine Lewis each added 16 points for UNLV, while Lafonte Johnson had 14.
C.J. Cowgill had 19 points for Chaminade, while David Toya had 14 points and 10 rebounds and Watson added 11 points and nine rebounds despite the foul trouble.
Chaminade, a Division II school in Honolulu, has a 3-46 record in the 17 years of the Maui Invitational. The Silverswords' last victory was a 71-63 double-overtime win over Stanford in the 1992 seventh-place game.