Sunday, January 13, 2002
[ UH BASKETBALL ]
|
’Bows alone atop WAC Forty-five years ago yesterday, Elvis Presley recorded "All Shook Up."
Hawaii beats SMU 83-74 in a
battle of the conference's
final 2 unbeaten teams'Bows not afraid of the 3-pointer
By Cindy Luis
cluis@starbulletin.comThe King would be very proud of the new Kings of the Western Athletic Conference, who are shaking up the school record book.
In front of the second-largest crowd of the season at the Stan Sheriff Center, the Hawaii basketball team hit a school-record 14 3-pointers to hand SMU its first conference defeat, 83-74. A vocal 8,060 (9,041 tickets) saw the Rainbows win for the ninth consecutive time and improve to 15-2 overall and a best-ever 6-0 start in the WAC.
"The 3-point shooting was amazing," said reserve senior forward Mindaugas Burneika, who made a career-high four 3-pointers on his way to 16 points. "As they say, the only shots that you will miss 100 percent are the ones you don't take.
"We beat a great team with great guards. It feels good."
For the second consecutive game, Hawaii had five players score in double figures. Predrag Savovic again led the way with 22 points, going 5-for-10 from 3-point range. Mike McIntyre came off the bench for 17 points, including three 3-pointers, while Carl English added 14 points (two 3-pointers) and Haim Shimonovich 10 points.
"We played well, but we couldn't stop the 3-point shot," said SMU coach Mike Dement, whose team fell to 9-6, 4-1. "The 3-pointer will beat you almost every time. Savovic, McIntyre, Burneika ... all were hitting and it's difficult to spread it (the defense) when everyone is hitting like that.
"And their crowd helped them so much. When they needed to make a run, make a defense run, they were there. That's what the home-court advantage is all about. But our team has to feel pretty good to have played a game like this against a great team like Hawaii."
The Rainbows responded with equal praise for their fans.
"They were amazing," said Savovic. "They gave us that extra boost. I hope they'll keep coming back."
After leading for most of the game, Hawaii had to make a comeback of its own. A basket by Damon Hancock, the WAC's leading scorer, capped a 6-0 run that gave SMU its first lead since the first half at 61-60 with 7:59 to go.
It lasted for 22 seconds. Hawaii hit two 3-pointers during a 10-2 spurt for a 70-63 advantage. Hancock scored the last of his 24 points on a jumper that pulled SMU to within 70-67. The Mustangs never got closer as the Rainbows closed the game with a 13-7 run, getting big 3-pointers from McIntyre and Burneika.
"SMU was ready for us and they shot the ball well (50 percent from the field)," said Hawaii coach Riley Wallace, his team off to its best start in his 15 seasons at Manoa. "But our 3-point shooting was very, very good.
"It's hard to compare teams over the years and this team is not the most athletically gifted I've had. But they are very, very special because they respond to what the coaches want. They're very coachable.
"I don't know if I've had a team that shoots the ball as well among the first seven. They're feeling pretty good about themselves. They were even high-fiving the (UH) president."
Evan Dobelle watched a well-played game in which Hawaii was outrebounded 31-29 but had 22 assists on its 31 baskets. Eight of the assists were by Shimonovich, who also had just one turnover in 31 minutes.
The game opened with Hancock on the bench due to a team-imposed penalty for being late for the bus. The Mustangs didn't need him as they took a 15-8 lead in the opening 5:27.
Hancock came in, but it was the Rainbows who gunned their engines, hitting three consecutive 3-pointers to take a 17-15 lead. Hancock tied it at 17 at the 12:27 mark only to have Savovic's jumper give Hawaii the lead, 19-17.
The Rainbows held the lead until the Mustangs pulled ahead 61-60 with 7:59 to go.
That lead lasted just 22 seconds. Burneika tied his career-high in 3-pointers with his third, beginning a 10-2 spurt that gave Hawaii a 70-63 lead with 4:55 to go. The Mustangs never got closer than three in losing their first WAC game.
Hancock finished with 24 points while Patrick Simpson had a career-high 18. Justin Isham finished with 15 and Quinton Ross 11.
Hawaii committed just six turnovers to SMU's 10.
RAINBOW WARRIORS (15-2, 6-0 WAC) HAWAII 83, SMU 74
fg fga ft fta min reb a tp Savovic 8 14 1 1 28 0 0 22 Martin 1 6 0 2 20 2 0 2 Shimonovich 5 10 0 0 31 6 8 10 Campbell 1 3 0 0 28 2 4 2 English 5 12 2 4 38 5 7 14 McIntyre 6 9 2 2 24 5 4 17 Burneika 5 8 2 2 25 4 1 16 Akpan 0 1 0 0 6 2 0 0 Totals 31 63 7 11 200 29 22 83 MUSTANGS (9-6, 4-1 WAC)
fg fga ft fta min reb a tp Simpson 6 7 6 6 29 9 2 18 Isham 6 7 1 2 33 0 1 15 Ross 4 14 2 2 30 4 2 11 Lowe 0 2 0 0 23 2 1 0 Niemi 0 1 0 0 6 1 0 0 Hancock 8 16 6 6 33 4 4 24 Castro 3 4 0 2 23 6 3 6 Kelley 0 2 0 0 21 2 0 0 Pharis 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 Smith 0 1 0 0 2 1 0 0 Totals 27 54 15 18 200 29 22 74 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 40, Southern Methodist 33
3-point goals--Hawaii 14-27 (Savovic 5-10, Burneika 4-6, McInytyre 3-5, English 2-5, Campbell 0-1), SMU 5-15 (Hancock 2-6, Isham 2-3, Ross 1-5, Lowe 0-1). Personal fouls--Hawaii 17, SMU 17. Steals--Hawaii 2 (Shimonovich, English), SMU 3 (Ross, Niemi, Hancock). Blocked shots--Hawaii 2 (Shimonovich, McIntyre), SMU 3 (Ross, Simpson, Castro). Turnovers--Hawaii 6, Boise State 10. A--9,041.
UH Athletics
Ka Leo O Hawaii