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Thursday, December 28, 2000
The four local small college men's basketball teams are almost there. SMALL COLLEGE NOTEBOOK
PacWest season
almost hereBrandon Lee
Special to the Star-BulletinThere, being the start of the Pacific West Conference season, exactly one week away.
Brigham Young-Hawaii, Hawaii Pacific and Hawaii-Hilo each have a game remaining before PacWest play begins on Jan. 4. Chaminade has two.
Despite losing its last three games, BYUH (5-3) looks every bit the part of the preseason pick to repeat as Pacific Division champion. Ranked No. 3 in the latest Division II West Regional poll, the Seasiders' losses all came against Division I competition in their Yahoo! Sports Invitational tournament.
BYUH was competitive in all three defeats. The Seasiders led for most of the first half and pulled to within single digits in the second against then No. 13 Southern California, led against Southern Illinois at halftime, and went down at the buzzer to Boise State.
"I thought we played well for the most part," said BYUH coach Ken Wagner. "It helped prepare us for (the) league. Now we know, mentally, we need to be tough in close situations to come away with a win. It's a tough league and I think the teams that will standout are the ones that can handle pressure."
Alleviating some of the pressure for the Seasiders should be the impending return of redshirt-freshman point guard Yuta Tabuse. The prep legend from Japan has yet to see game-action this year due to a back injury.
It's unlikely he'll return for BYUH's nonconference game against Chapman next Tuesday, but he may see limited minutes when the Seasiders open conference play at home Thursday against Humboldt State, the West Region's sixth-ranked team.
Of the three other local teams, Chaminade (4-3) has been making the most noise early by reeling off four straight victories and jumping into the West rankings at No. 9.
Chaminade's losses, like BYUH's, all came against Div. I competition in their Maui Invitational. Gunning for their first winning season since the 1986-87 campaign, the Silverswords face Chapman tomorrow and Lewis & Clark next Sunday before opening conference play with a big test at home Thursday against West Region No. 2 Western Washington.
"We're definitely right where we need to be," Chaminade coach Aaron Griess said. "We're improving with each game and I think we can compete with anybody in the league if we stay healthy."
Hawaii Pacific (4-4) has quietly tallied three straight wins after dropping four games in a row. After the first losing campaign in his 13-year tenure at the school last season, coach Tony Sellitto said his team should be a conference contender once again.
"We're a good team with a lot of new guys starting to gel," Sellitto said. "I wouldn't have said it last year, but wait 'til the end of this year and we're on top --I'll say I told you guys."
The Sea Warriors have a nonconference game against Western Montana Saturday before opening PacWest play at home next Thursday against Western Oregon.
Hawaii-Hilo (4-4 ) is also on a winning streak, taking its last four contests after dropping the first four.
The Vulcans are led by the strength of their perimeter players, including PacWest Player of the Week, guard Scott Prather. Coach Jeff Law hopes UHH's perimeter play will be enough to win early on in the conference schedule while his comparatively inexperienced post players continue to develop.
"We're maturing a bit more, but not in big, drastic steps," Law said. "We don't have the personnel to just show up and win, but I'm hoping this team will develop into something special."
Aiming for their first winning campaign in seven seasons this year, the Vulcans play Western Montana tomorrow before opening the PacWest at home next Thursday against West Region No. 10 Seattle Pacific.
Hawaii Pacific
BYU-Hawaii
Chaminade
U.H. Hilo
