[ UH BASKETBALL ]
Sottos finds his stroke
after 2 weeks of missing
As a long-range specialist, Jake Sottos adheres to the doctrine that shooters keep shooting.
Sottos, a junior transfer, had struggled with his shot for much of his first two weeks with the Hawaii basketball team. But he found his stroke in the Rainbow Warriors' scrimmage yesterday, draining four 3-pointers late in the contest to help the White squad defeat the Black 86-82 in overtime.
"No matter how many you miss you just keep shooting, and once you get that streak going then it starts getting a lot easier," Sottos said.
Sottos signed with UH after helping Southeastern (Iowa) Community College win the National Junior College Athletic Association championship last season. He led the team with 16.6 points per game and hit 127 3-pointers in 38 games. He made 39.7 percent of his shots behind the arc and knows shooting fortunes can often go in cycles.
"It's happened before, so I know I have just shoot out of it," Sottos said.
Sottos finished the scrimmage with 19 points as five members of the White squad scored in double figures. Jeff Blackett led the squad with 21 and Vaidotas Peciukas had 19, while Julian Sensley finished with 12 and Jason Carter added 10.
The balance of the White overcame a scoring binge by two returning starters. Michael Kuebler scored 34 points on 11-of-17 shooting from the field. He was also 10-for-10 from the free-throw line. Phil Martin made 11 of 15 shots from the field to finish with 24 points.
Kuebler sent the scrimmage into overtime by working free and nailing a 3-pointer at the buzzer to tie the game at 74. But Sottos knocked down a 3-pointer in overtime to put the White up for good.
Sottos said the Rainbows' Saturday scrimmages have helped him adapt to the speed and physical nature of Division I ball. He said it also allows the newcomers to get a feel for the system by playing against defenders familiar with the offensive sets.
"They know all our plays," he said. "So if you can run it against them you should be able to run it against anybody."
Ball security: While UH coach Riley Wallace has seen progress in the team's execution, turnovers are still a concern. The teams combined for 32 turnovers yesterday, an improvement on the 39 committed in the previous week's scrimmage. But Wallace would like to see that number drop even more.
Carter and Logan Lee, who are battling for the point guard job, combined for 10 assists and eight turnovers. Sensley and Sottos both had six assists and no turnovers.
"We have to get our guards that are handling the ball to cut down their turnovers by two a game, and that'll do it," Wallace said. "They have to be careful with the ball."
Maui tickets on sale: Three hundred tickets for UH's games in the EA Sports Maui Invitational are available for purchase. Tickets are $35 per session or $105 for a package. The tournament runs Nov. 24-26 at the Lahaina Civic Center.
Tickets for individual games and the Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic (Dec. 27-30) also go on sale tomorrow. Individual games are available in two tiers. Tickets for Tier I games range from $8 to $16. Tier II games range from $8 to $15. Rainbow Classic packages are $68 in the lower level (single seats only) and $52 in the upper level.
Tickets are available at the Stan Sheriff Center ticket office, the Rainbowtique at Ward Centre, Aloha Stadium, the UH Campus Center, Windward Community College, by phone at (808) 944-BOWS or on the Internet at www.etickethawaii.com.
