Tuesday, December 11, 2001
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Sloppy ’Bows Senior tri-captain Mindaugas Burneika had to go it alone last night for the pregame session with the officials at midcourt. Hawaii's other two captains were on the bench: Predrag Savovic, who was sitting out the final game of his NCAA-imposed penalty, and Mike McIntyre, who reaggravated a thigh injury.
beat shaky Braves
Down to 1 captain, Hawaii gets
Savo all clear
enough from its youngsters
to improve to 6-1By Cindy Luis
cluis@starbulletin.comBurneika, held scoreless until there was 8:05 left in the game, got enough help from the underclassmen, however. Led by Carl English's 17 points and a season-high 16 points from fellow sophomore Phil Martin, the Hawaii men's basketball team ran its record to 6-1 with a 62-48 victory over Alcorn State (1-5).
A Christmas shopping crowd of 3,423 (5,543 tickets issued) saw the Rainbows win their 11th straight at the Stan Sheriff Center dating back to last season. But Hawaii failed to make good on its promise to outscore its football team. The Warriors routed BYU 72-45 on Saturday.
"Things were going well for parts of the game, but there were times when it wasn't going well at all," said Martin. "We need to stay focused. It was good to get back on the court again."
Hawaii was coming off a 12-day layoff ... and it showed. The Rainbows, averaging 13 turnovers a game, had 11 by halftime against the Braves.
The 11th turnover came as Hawaii was setting up for the last shot of the first half. Carl English's pass was intercepted. It resulted in a breakaway basket by Jason Cable just before the buzzer, cutting the Rainbows' lead to 29-23.
Only three Alcorn State players scored in the first 20 minutes. Marcus Fleming managed the Braves' first 11 points, Lee Cook scored the next eight and Cable the final four.
Alcorn State cut the lead to 31-29 in the opening minutes of the second half only to have Hawaii answer with a 13-0 run. Two consecutive layups by English during a 13-second span keyed the spurt. The Braves never got closer than nine the rest of the way.
Hawaii, shooting 65 percent from the line as a team, was cold in the first half, hitting just 5 of 10 attempts. The Rainbows finished 12 of 24 for the night.
They were even worse from 3-point range, going 0-for-4, but they weren't as bad as the Braves. Alcorn State was 0-for-15 from long distance. It was the first time Hawaii coach Riley Wallace could remember a game without a 3-pointer by either team since the shot was introduced.
"I'm very happy to get out of here with a win," said Wallace. "It was an ugly game but we won, even though we had 23 turnovers and got outrebounded on the offensive boards 15-5.
"If we had been playing San Diego State tonight, we'd have lost by 30."
Hawaii plays San Diego State on Friday. The Aztecs upset then-No. 21 Fresno State by 15 last Saturday.
"We didn't know anything about Hawaii, but there were no surprises," said Alcorn State Davey Whitney. "I've known (Wallace) for a long time and I know what he does just like he knows what I do.
"Our problem was we couldn't take advantage of their 23 turnovers. And we keep having a lull at the end of the game."
Adding 10 points each for Hawaii were sophomore Haim Shimonovich and junior Luc-Arthur Vebobe, the latter who was making his debut in a Rainbow uniform after sitting out the first six games of the season. Shimonovich just missed his third double-double of the season, finishing with nine rebounds.
"It feels good to play," said Vebobe. "There wasn't much difference from junior college tonight. There was a lot of street ball out there."
For the Braves, Fleming finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds, Cook with 12 points and Brian Jackson with 10.
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Predrag Savovic enjoyed his last game as assistant coach. As he has all season to this point, he sat on the Hawaii bench in street clothes last night, trying to make himself useful as Hawaii beat Alcorn State 62-48 at the Stan Sheriff Center. Rainbows are all
clear on Savo frontBy Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.com"I was hoping (coach Riley Wallace) would hire me," Savovic joked.
But starting Friday against San Diego State, the Rainbows' leading scorer of a year ago will be back where he belongs -- on the court and in uniform.
"He'll start," Wallace said. "I'm not sure for who yet, but he'll start."
Said forward Phil Martin: "We like him better as a player."
UH and the All-Western Athletic Conference guard received word from the NCAA yesterday that Savovic is clear to play after sitting out Hawaii's first seven games.
With an injury to Mike McIntyre cutting UH's available guards with game experience down to two last night, Savovic's return is just in time for the Rainbows. They appeared ragged and out of sync throughout last night's game.
"We won the game, but there are so many things we need to work on," Savovic said.
Wallace said Savovic will give the team an immediate lift.
"He brings energy. He'll take some bad shots, but he makes some bad shots," Wallace said. "He'll fill a lane every time, so he'll help our fast break. He's a leader, and he hates to lose."
Immediately after the game, Savovic gathered the players at center court before they went to the locker room.
"I just told them the game was bad and we've got to get better to meet our goals."
The eligibility of Savovic and other foreign players was questioned by the NCAA during the offseason, as the NCAA decided to enforce a rule regarding prior competition among professionals in unsanctioned events.
Savovic said he was unaware he played among pros in his native Yugoslavia prior to coming to the United States and enrolling at Alabama-Birmingham, where he played a year before transferring to UH.
His situation first surfaced in a report in the Dayton Daily News while the Rainbows were in Dayton, Ohio, last March preparing for their NCAA Tournament first-round game against Syracuse. Savovic played in the game, which UH lost.
Since then, UH officials and attorneys compiled information about Savovic's basketball-playing background, which it provided to the NCAA.
At first, it was feared Savovic could lose his entire senior season, as the previous penalty was one game of eligibility for every game played among professionals.
But last month, the NCAA board of directors approved a compromise that would set the maximum penalty at eight games. Then, until yesterday, UH played awaiting resolution.
"I was surprised, kind of taken off-guard with the news," Savovic said. "Of course it's good news."
Junior transfer forward Luc-Arthur Vebobe, a native of France, was in a similar situation. He played his first game for Hawaii last night after sitting out the first six games. He scored 10 points and grabbed five rebounds in 21 minutes off the bench.
The NCAA had also requested information on Mindaugas Burneika, a senior forward from Lithuania. But Burneika was cleared before the season started and has played in all seven UH games.
Hawaii 62, Alcorn State 48
Braves (1-5)
fg fga ft fta min reb a tp Cammon 0 3 0 0 32 0 3 0 Cable 3 12 1 2 23 3 1 7 Jackson 4 13 2 2 32 3 1 10 Fleming 6 12 5 8 36 10 3 17 Harper 1 4 0 0 22 4 0 2 Harris 0 1 0 0 11 0 0 0 Jackson 0 0 0 0 8 1 1 0 Cook 5 10 2 5 18 6 0 12 Norris 0 1 0 1 6 0 0 0 Callans 0 1 0 0 4 0 0 0 Robinson 0 1 0 0 8 0 0 0 Team 1 Totals 19 58 10 18 200 28 9 48 Rainbows (6-1)
fg fga ft fta min reb a tp Martin 7 11 2 4 34 3 2 16 Shimonovich 3 4 4 5 34 9 3 10 Campbell 2 3 0 2 34 2 5 4 Burneika 2 4 1 2 29 6 5 5 English 6 10 5 9 40 3 3 17 Jesinskis 0 1 0 0 8 2 0 0 Vebobe 5 6 0 2 21 5 2 10 Team 4 Totals 25 39 12 24 200 34 20 62 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--Hawaii 29, Alcorn State 23.
3-point goals--Alcorn State 0-15; Hawaii 0-4. Personal fouls--Alcorn State 21, Hawaii 19. Steals--Alcorn State 13 (Fleming 6, Jackson 3, Cable 3, Cammon 1), Hawaii 5 (English 2, Shimonovich 2, Campbell). Blocked shots--Alcorn State 2 (Cook 2), Hawaii 4 (Burneika 2, Shimonovich, Vebobe). Turnovers--Alcorn State 16 (Fleming 5, Cable 4, Harper 2, Cook 2, B. Jackson, Harris, C. Jackson), Hawaii 23 (Campbell 5, Shimonovich 4, Burneika 4, Martin 3, English 3, Jesinskis 2, Vebobe 2). Officials--Stowe, Colella, Tanibe. A--5,543.
UH Athletics