GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Hawaii's Carl English scored a game-high 21 points in a one-point loss to the EA Sports West All-Stars last night.
UH sports a loss It was as much an education as it was an exhibition.
in exhibition
Ex-Rainbow McIntyre hits a big 3-pointer
for the visiting EA Sports West All-StarsBy Cindy Luis
cluis@starbulletin.comAfter five weeks of intrasquad practices, the Hawaii basketball team knew it had a few things to learn about playing against someone else. The EA Sports West All-Stars taught the Rainbows a few of those things last night in handing UH a 73-72 loss at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Lesson 1: Hit those free throws.
Lesson 2: Hit the open man on the back-door cuts.
Lesson 3: Don't let your former teammate hit a critical 3-pointer.
Last night, the Rainbows got schooled. And they knew it.
"It was a good learning experience for us," said junior guard Carl English, who led all scorers with 24 points. "Hopefully, the new guys remember what it feels like to lose and it won't happen the next time. It's tough to lose, no matter who you're playing, but it's better to have it happen now than later.
"We've got to execute better, run Coach's system, and come out and play as a team."
As a team, Hawaii shot poorly from the floor (27-for-59) and the free-throw line (11-for-19). Although the Rainbows made 8 of 11 from the line in the final 20 minutes, it was two misses in the final 3:56 that helped cost them the game.
Hawaii also had trouble defending the 3-pointer in the final five minutes. Former Rainbow Mike McIntyre hit his only trey of the night after five misses, setting off a 16-6 run in which the visitors hit four 3-pointers to take control at 69-63 with 53 seconds remaining.
Hawaii came as close as 70-69 on junior guard Michael Kuebler's 3-pointer with 23 seconds to go, but could not catch the visitors. English's 3-pointer at the buzzer provided the final scoring.
"I knew I was going to hit that one," said McIntyre, who ranks No. 3 on the UH career list in 3-pointers.
McIntyre was a late addition to the EA Sports roster, a team that was playing its fifth game in six nights. Having been on the Rainbow squad last year, McIntyre knew Hawaii's plays well and clued in his new teammates to what was being run.
"Plus I've been watching them in practice," McIntyre said of the current Hawaii team. "They worked hard tonight, but I could see they were second-guessing themselves. Some of them are still learning the offense. To be honest, they didn't shoot as well as I know they can. But this is what these kind of games are for. To learn."
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Hawaii's Carl English, left, and Milos Zivanovic and EA Sports' Scott Brooks fought for the ball last night.
The win surprised All-Stars coach Dudley Rutherford, who lost center Kevin Blount to food poisoning this morning.
"We played really well considering we had a 12-hour travel day yesterday," Rutherford said. "Our guys had a lot of nervous energy for some reason. We looked rested and we weren't rested.
"We go in streaks. We played three bad games, three good games and this is our second good game we've played back to back. If we hit our 3-pointers, we win. If we don't, then those are the bad games."
Rutherford praised the Rainbows, saying he'd rank them between Utah and Nevada, two teams EA Sports lost to last week. However, Hawaii coach Riley Wallace had few kind words for his team.
"There wasn't much of anything I liked out there on our part," said a hoarse Wallace, who has a case of bronchitis. "I was disappointed in our defense and our free-throw shooting. We've got a lot of work to do on our defensive intensity.
"They (EA Sports) were just more ready to play. It took a while for our team to figure out they wanted to play together and wanted to win."
Hawaii has today off and then has three practices before opening the regular season Friday against Arkansas-Little Rock in the Hawaiian Airlines Tip-Off Tournament.
"Coach will get us ready," Kuebler said. "We didn't come out like we should have. We know we should have won.
"This will get us motivated. With these last three practices we'll get the loose ends tied up."
Martin was the only other Rainbow in double figures with 21. He and English had eight rebounds apiece.
Jan Michael-Thomas led the All-Stars with 19 points, 16 in the second half. He finished with five of EA Sports' 12 3-pointers.
Maurice Spillers added 17 points, Jack Hartman 13 and Josh Merrill 12. All of Hartman's points came in the first half in helping EA Sports to a 37-32 lead at intermission.
EA Sports All-Stars 73, Hawaii 72
EA Sports 37 36 -- 73 Hawaii 32 40 -- 72 EA Sports -- Mclinn 1-7 0-1 2, Carr 2-4 0-0 4, Spillers 7-14 3-7 17, Hartman 5-10 0-0 13, Merrill 5-12 0-0 12, Brooks 1-2 0-0 3, Michael-Thomas 6-8 2-2 19, McIntyre 1-6 0-0 3, Maye 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-63 5-10 73.
Hawaii -- Martin 7-13 7-11 21, Shimonovich 2-3 0-1 4, Campbell 1-6 0-0 2, Peciukas 3-8 0-1 7, English 8-13 4-6 24, Zivanovich 1-2 0-0 2, Carter 2-5 0-0 5, Kuebler 2-5 0-0 5, Akpan 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 27-59 11-19 72.
Halftime -- EA 37, Hawaii 32. 3-point goals--EA 12-33 (Michael-Thomas 5, Hartman 3, Merrill 2, McIntyre, Brooks), Hawaii 7-16 (English 4, Peciukas, Carter, Kneubler). Fouled out--None. Rebounds--EA 32 (Merrill 8, Hartman 7, Brooks 4, Spillers 4), Hawaii 37 (Martin 8, English 8, Akpan 5). Assists--EA 18 (Mclinn 5, Spillers 3, Hartman 3), Hawaii 21 (Shimonovich 5, Carter 4, Campbell 3, Peciukas 3). Total fouls--EA 20, Hawaii 15.
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