[ RAINBOW BASKETBALL ]
FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
Hawaii senior Haim Shimonovich went up for two points in last night's Rainbow Classic victory over Lamar.
HAWAII 94, LAMAR 88
’Bows come
back to winHawaii erases a 12-point deficit
with a 23-2 run en route to a
tournament victory over Lamar
The Hawaii basketball team ended last year's Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic with a remarkable comeback and opened this year's tournament with another.
The Rainbow Warriors erased a 12-point second-half deficit with a 23-2 outburst and held on for a 94-88 win over Lamar before a crowd of 5,129 at the Stan Sheriff Center.
UH guard Michael Kuebler, who sparked UH's rally from a 15-point deficit against Butler in last year's Classic championship game, led the 'Bows with 28 points on 11-for-18 shooting from the field as UH (6-2) overcame a 10-point halftime deficit.
"We knew if we played our game we'd be able to get the win," Kuebler said. "That first half we got sucked into playing their game, just going up and down and putting shots up real quick. In the second half, we were able to run our offense."
Hawaii, which broke the 90-point mark for the third consecutive game, will play IUPUI in a semifinal game at 7:30 p.m tomorrow. Lamar falls into the consolation bracket and will take on East Tennessee State at 11 a.m.
The second half of the semifinal bracket will be decided today when Bowling Green plays Fairfield at 5 p.m. and American faces Pepperdine at 7:30.
"We didn't want to play (the morning game)," UH coach Riley Wallace said. "It was going through my mind when we were down 10.
"Not only was it 10, but we were frustrated because everything they did was right and everything we did was wrong. ... But this team's not made like that. They finally responded, did what we wanted to do and pulled it out."
UH forward Julian Sensley recorded double figures in points (11) and rebounds (10) for the second straight game and Phil Martin helped spark the rally with 15 points. Jeff Blackett contributed a season-high 10 points.
Hawaii shot 57 percent from the field in the second half and made 22 of 25 attempts from the free-throw line.
Hawaii had its string of seven consecutive opening-round victories threatened as Lamar took a commanding lead early in the second half thanks to its up-tempo attack.
FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
Hawaii guard Michael Kuebler put up a layup for two of his 28 points in last night's Rainbow Classic victory over Lamar.
Cardinals guard Teddy Davis led Lamar with 23 points, while Raymond Anthony added 22. Forward Terrell Petteway scored 18.
But the Cardinals couldn't match UH's scoring binge in the second half.
"I thought our guys fought hard, but we didn't make the plays when the game got down to when it was going to be decided," Lamar coach Billy Tubbs said.
The Cardinals were a step quicker than the Rainbows for much of the first half. Three Lamar players hit double figures in points by halftime as the Cardinals opened up a 48-38 lead.
Rebounds and loose balls often found themselves in the hands of Lamar players and the Cardinals capitalized to take a 12-point lead. A tip-in by Petteway gave Lamar a 34-22 lead.
UH responded with an 11-0 run and Jason Carter's 3-pointer cut the deficit to one at 34-33. But Lamar sprinted away again as Raymond Anthony hit back-to-back 3-pointers.
With Lamar holding a 61-52 lead, UH center Haim Shimonovich sparked the UH rally with two short jumpers. He then blocked a shot, which led to a 3-pointer by Logan Lee.
Martin then tied the game at 61 by banking in a short jumper. He was fouled on the play and his free throw gave UH the lead for good.
UH then scored nine of the game's next 10 points and opened a 75-63 lead on a steal and a dunk by Sensley.
The daring 3-pointers that had been dropping for Lamar in the first half began missing the mark as the Cardinals went 1-for-10 behind the arc after halftime.
UH extended its lead and cleared its bench in the closing minutes. A layup by Jake Sottos put UH up 91-78, marking the first time since 1977 that a Hawaii team scored 90 points in three consecutive games.
Lamar made things interesting, closing to 93-88 on a 3-pointer by Anthony with 10.3 seconds left. But the Rainbows were able to hang on and close out the win.
IUPUI 85, East Tennessee State 81: The 40th annual Rainbow Classic opened with a classic shootout.
IUPUI guard Akeem Clark made nine 3-point shots, finishing two short of the tournament record, and scored a career-high 33 points to lead the Jaguars to the semifinals. Forward Odell Bradley made 10 of 15 shots from the field and finished with 27 points.
"I felt it from the jump, when I walked in," Clark said of his hot shooting.
The Jaguars and Buccaneers traded runs throughout the game before IUPUI overcame a 63-55 deficit by outscoring ETSU 22-5 in a nine-minute span in the second half.
Clark, who took just three shots inside the 3-point line, hit four from long range in the run.
"We didn't play real smart tonight, but we made shots when we had to," IUPUI coach Ron Hunter said. "It was like a heavyweight fight, the teams went back and forth and just a great basketball game."
The Jaguars overcame some shaky free-throw shooting (7-for-18) and a balanced ETSU attack in the win.
All five Buccaneers starters scored at least 12 points. Forward Jerald Fields and guard Ben Rhoda led ETSU with 18 points each.
Hawaii 94, Lamar 88
Cardinals (6-3)
Warriors (6-2)
fg fga ft fta min reb a tp Davis 8 18 7 9 36 12 2 23 Goodrich 4 16 2 3 34 0 4 10 Anthony 8 15 0 0 39 3 2 22 Petteway 8 14 2 2 36 9 0 18 Grant 2 6 0 0 21 6 0 4 Matti 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 Burnett 2 6 3 4 10 3 2 7 Whittle 0 5 1 3 7 4 1 1 Hester 0 1 3 4 15 4 0 3 Totals 32 81 18 25 200 42 11 88
Key--fg: field goals; fga: field goals attempted; ft: free throws; fta: free throws attempted; min: minutes; reb: rebounds; a: assists; tp: total points.
fg fga ft fta min reb a tp Martin 6 11 3 3 21 7 0 15 Shimonovich 4 11 0 0 23 12 2 8 Lee 2 2 1 2 21 0 1 6 Kuebler 11 18 5 5 38 4 2 28 Sensley 4 9 3 4 35 10 1 11 Sottos 1 1 3 4 1 0 0 5 Zivanovic 0 1 0 0 2 1 1 0 Carter 2 5 1 2 18 1 3 6 Gantt 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 Peciukas 0 1 2 2 6 1 0 2 Nash 0 1 0 0 2 1 0 0 Blackett 2 5 6 7 25 4 0 10 Jesinskis 1 1 1 2 7 2 1 3 Totals 33 66 25 31 200 48 11 94
Halftime-Lamar 48, Hawaii 38.
3-point goals--Lamar 6-24 (Anthony 6), Hawaii 3-13 (Lee, Kuebler, Carter). Personal fouls--Lamar 24, Hawaii 20. Steals--Lamar 11 (Goodrich 3, Anthony 2, Petteway 2, Davis, Grant, Burnett, Whittle), Hawaii 8 (Shimonovich 2, Kuebler 2, Sensley 2, Martin, Carter). Blocked shots--Lamar 3 (Petteway, Grant, Hester), Hawaii 6 (Shimonovich 3, Sensley 3). Turnovers--Lamar 11 (Goodrich 3, Davis 2, Anthony 2, Burnett 2, Petteway 2), Hawaii 21 (Shimonovich 6, Carter 5, Sensley 4, Martin 3, Kuebler, Sottos, Zivanovic).
Turnstile--5,129.
