Sunday, October 14, 2001
[ UH MEN'S BASKETBALL ]
It was fun and games at the Stan Sheriff Center until the early hours of yesterday morning at the 14th Midnight Ohana. ’Bows start all over
at Midnight OhanaBy Cindy Luis
cluis@starbulletin.comIt got serious for a few hours at Mid-Afternoon Ohana yesterday as the Hawaii men's basketball team conducted its first official practice of the season at Gym II.
"It's back to basics," said Rainbow coach Riley Wallace, as his team seeks to defend its Western Athletic Conference title. "We start all over again, just like we did a year ago. We need to get in shape, get their legs back.
"When they got into a game situation (Midnight Ohana Green-White scrimmage), you could see they got tired."
The adrenalin was pumping, however, from the start of the team introductions for the Rainbows and Wahine at 11:45 p.m. Friday through the heated 3-point shooting contest, which ended about 12:30 a.m. yesterday. The Wahine won for the third straight year as April Atuaia outshot Mike McIntyre 4-3 in the final.
McIntyre hit two 3-pointers as the White took control of the scrimmage early, leading by as many as 10 points. The senior guard sank two free throws with 3:45 remaining, giving the White a 26-19 lead.
It was 1:26 a.m. and what remained of the 4,000 fans tried a wave that was more of a ripple. Twenty seconds later, a basket by Predrag Savovic turned the tide for the Green.
Another basket by Savovic closed the gap to 26-23 with 28 seconds remaining. Going for the last shot, the White instead turned over the ball, with Savovic grabbing an errant cross-court pass.
The Green needed a 3-pointer to tie. Lance Takaki missed on his attempt, but Paul Jesinskis rebounded and kicked the ball out to guard Mark Campbell at the top of the key.
Campbell made the shot as the game clock hit zero, sending the game into overtime. The Green opened with an 8-0 run to pull away; only a basket by McIntyre with 25 seconds to go prevented an overtime shutout.
"In overtime, we got a little disorganized," said Phil Martin, who led the White with 11 points. "When we got behind, we got a little panicky."
"There were no worries," said Savovic of being behind so late in regulation. "We take this game very serious. Every time we play we are serious."
Savovic, who led all scorers with 16, is now 3-0 in the Midnight Ohana scrimmage. Campbell, a junior transfer, enjoyed his debut.
"It was really fun," said the 6-foot-4 guard. "It was a fun way to kick off the season.
"From the looks of it, this team has a lot of potential. We have a chance to be a really good team.
"We're close off the court, now we need to be a close team on the court," he said. "A big part of winning is how you work together."
Teamwork nearly gave Carl English a repeat dunk title. The 6-foot-5 sophomore took a high bounce pass from Takaki, then tried to leapfrog over the 5-4 junior for a slam attempt that went off the rim.
The contest was won by newcomer Luc-Arthur Vebobe.
"We have a lot to work on," said Wallace. "The good thing is, they're all competing hard."
Green 34, White 28 (OT)
Green 11 15 8 -- 34 White 16 10 2 -- 28 Green: Predrag Savovic 7-15 1-2 16, Milos Zivanovic 0-2 0-0 0, Mark Campbell 2-2 0-0 5, Paul Jesinskis 1-5 4-4 6, Nkeruwem Akpan 2-4 1-1 5, Lance Takaki 1-3 0-0 2, Joshua Stanhiser 0-1 0-0 2, Dan Pickart 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 13-32 6-7 34
White: Phil Martin 5-6 101 11, Mike McIntyre 3-7 1-2 9, Haim Shimonovich 0-3 4-4 4, Carl English 2-6 0-0 4, Luc-Arthur Vebobe 0-3 0-0 0, Wade Butler 0-0 0-0 0, Ryne Holliday 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 10-26 6-7 28.
3-point goals: Green 2-11 (Campbell 1-1, Savovic 1-6, Zivanovic 0-1, Jesinskis 0-1, Takaki 0-2). White 2-8 (McIntyre 2-5, English 0-1, Vebobe 0-1, Holliday 0-1).
Rebounds: Green 19 (Akpan 6), White 15 (Martin 4). Assists: Green 9 (Savovic 2, Campbell 2, Stanhiser 2), White 6 (McIntyre 2, English 2). Blocks: Green 1 (Stanhiser), White 0. Steals: Green 6 (Savovic 3), White 5 (English 3). Turnovers: Green 6, White 9.
Officials: Brian Yamasaki, Donovan Lewis, Pat Tanibe. Att: 4,000 (est.)
UH Athletics
Ka Leo O Hawaii
