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H A W A I I _ S P O R T S
Notebook
Saturday, March 10, 2001
RAINBOW BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK
TULSA, Okla. -- Phil Martin celebrated his 21st birthday in style yesterday. Martin’s wish
comes trueThe University of Hawaii freshman forward pulled in a career-high 13 rebounds and scored 10 points in the Rainbows' 76-67 victory over Fresno State in a Western Athletic Conference Tournament semifinal.
Martin was serenaded with "Happy Birthday" by teammates at lunch when given a piece of cake with a candle. He later said he silently wished for a victory before he blew it out.
Martin, the WAC leader in field goal percentage and a member of the conference all-newcomer team, also scored 10 points yesterday.
Hurricane watch
Tulsa forward Marcus Hill led the Hurricane with 20 points and center Kevin Johnson grabbed eight rebounds when UH beat Tulsa in Honolulu, 68-65, on Jan. 13.In Tulsa, on Jan. 28, the Hurricane beat the Rainbows, 79-67, as forward David Shelton scored 18 and Johnson took 14 boards.
Predrag Savovic and Troy Ostler scored 18 each for UH in the home win and Nerijus Puida had 11 rebounds. Savovic and Ostler each scored 20 and Puida gathered 11 rebounds again in the loss at Tulsa.
Where's the band?
The UH band and cheerleaders and the Rainbow Dancers did not make the trip here.Assistant athletic director Marilyn Moniz-Kaho'ohanohano said UH does not budget travel for them, and the distance to this year's tournament made fund-raising difficult.
"Also, the band had another engagement that they raised money for, and the cheerleaders had their national championships," Moniz-Kaho'ohanohano said.
Call from Red
UH coach Riley Wallace said one of several congratulatory phone calls he received last night was from former Rainbows coach Red Rocha, who now lives in Corvallis, Ore.Rocha coached Hawaii from 1963 to 1973, including the Fabulous Five seasons of 1970-71 and '71-72 that ended in NIT and NCAA Tournament appearances.
NIT-picking
If Hawaii loses tonight, it will be 16-14 overall. But it also will have won six of its last eight games, making it a possible National Invitational Tournament team. Guarantee deposits have been made by UH for both the men's and women's NITs.Hawaii last appeared in the NIT in 1998, when it beat Arizona State and Gonzaga before losing to Fresno State.
Tip-ins
Savovic and Puida are both listed as guard/forwards, but Savovic almost always starts at guard and Puida at forward. They switched yesterday though, as Puida matched up with FSU guard Tito Maddox. ... The Reynolds Center is one of the WAC's best venues, but this week players have slipped on the floor several times -- especially near midcourt, where a temporary tournament logo appears to be causing the falls. ... If the Rainbows win tonight, they plan to stay on the mainland and head to their first-round NCAA Tournament site. If they lose, they leave for Honolulu tomorrow morning.
Dave Reardon, Star-Bulletin