FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
Hawaii's Julian Sensley went up for two of his 15 points in last night's win over IUPUI.
Rainbows drop
IUPUI to advanceHawaii's passing results in
a victory and a shot at a third
straight Rainbow Classic title
Sure, the Hawaii basketball team’s deft passing and hot shooting have fueled the Rainbow Warriors’ run for a third consecutive Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic crown.
Rainbow Classic
Where: Stan Sheriff Center
TV: Live, KFVE-TV
Radio: Live, KKEA 1420-AM
Internet: uhathletics. hawaii.edu
Tickets: Night session--$16 (lower level, single seats only); $12 (upper level). Day session--$5 (general admission). Parking, $3.
Schedule and Results
Today
Game 9: Seventh place -- Lamar vs. Bowling Green, 11 a.m.
Game 10: Consolation championship -- East Tennessee State vs. American, 1:30 p.m.
Game 11: Third place -- IUPUI vs. Pepperdine, 5 p.m.
Game 12: Championship -- Hawaii vs. Fairfield, 7:30 p.m.
But just as vital has been their ability to make key adjustments on the fly.
The Rainbow Warriors advanced to tonight’s title game by countering the schemes IUPUI used against them in an 82-64 semifinal victory last night at the Stan Sheriff Center.
“That’s what I preach to these guys,” UH coach Riley Wallace said. “That we have an answer to everything someone will throw at us and we just have to go out there and execute it.”
A crowd of 5,130 watched UH (7-2) reach its fifth consecutive Rainbow Classic final where the host team will face Fairfield (7-1).
UH made it this far by defeating Lamar and IUPUI teams that preferred an up-tempo style of play. Tonight, the ’Bows must adjust to a Fairfield squad that used a deliberate approach to beat Pepperdine 60-56 in yesterday’s first semifinal game.
“They want to play halfcourt, they’re not going to run up and down the floor,” Wallace said.
Four of the Stags’ starters average double figures in scoring. Guard Terrence Todd uses his quickness to the basket to score 14.8 points per game. Center Rob Thomson (12.1 ppg) is tough in the post and forward Deng Gai (14.1 ppg) is an intimidating shot-blocker on the defensive end.
“They have a combination with the guards and the big guys,” UH guard Logan Lee said. “Coach (Bob) Nash is going to be watching tape all night we’ll see what he gives us (today).”
The Rainbows’ scouting and preparation helped them withstand a challenge from an IUPUI squad that tried to make up for its height disadvantage (the Jaguars’ tallest starter was 6-foot-6 forward Brandon Cole) with a zone defense that relied on quickness.
“The scout team did one heck of a job in a day and a half to prepare these guys for it,” said Wallace, whose team shot 54 percent from the field. “They gave us some really tough zone defense in practice that really helped us tonight.”
UH guard Michael Kuebler took advantage of the zone by draining seven of nine 3-point shots en route to a 26-point performance.
“He made all the right plays and made big shots,” IUPUI coach Ron Hunter said. “We tried to change defenses on him. They did a good job of setting screens.”
Lee dished out a career-high 10 assists with just two turnovers. As a team, the ’Bows matched their season high with 25 assists.
Forward Julian Sensley had 15 points, seven rebounds and eight assists while Phil Martin finished with 18 points. Center Haim Shimonovich grabbed 13 rebounds to go along with eight points.
“We played probably one of our best games of the year,” Wallace said.
IUPUI’s hopes of upsetting Hawaii took a serious blow when forward Odell Bradley, the team’s leading scorer, left the game with a sprained right ankle with 11:50 left in the game.
Cole led four Jaguars in double figures with 18 points, while Matt Crenshaw added 12. Bradley had 10 points before leaving the game.
UH used a 14-0 run to take a 32-17 lead in the first half and maintained its advantage throughout the game.
IUPUI stayed within striking distance most of the second half, but missed out on opportunities to creep closer by making just five of 13 free throws in the second half.
Both UH and Fairfield enter tonight’s game with five-game winning streaks.
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Hawaii 82, IUPUI 64
JAGUARS (6-4)
fg fga ft fta min reb a tp Crenshaw 6 10 0 3 36 3 1 12 Miller 2 6 2 2 31 7 0 4 Cole 7 17 2 2 33 7 1 18 Clark 4 14 0 0 39 4 0 11 Bradley 4 9 2 3 28 4 4 10 Booyer 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 Harvey 3 4 2 3 19 5 0 8 Scott 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 Barlow 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 Crawford 0 0 0 3 7 0 0 0 Buckley 0 0 1 2 3 0 0 1 Totals 26 60 7 17 200 30 6 64
WARRIORS (7-2)
fg fga ft fta min reb a tp Martin 9 17 0 0 27 6 2 18 Shimonovich 4 7 0 2 33 13 0 8 Lee 3 7 0 0 36 5 10 7 Kuebler 9 12 1 2 39 1 4 26 Sensley 6 13 1 1 40 7 8 15 Carter 0 2 0 0 4 1 0 0 Nash 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 Blackett 4 7 0 0 20 2 1 8 Team 1 Totals 35 65 2 5 200 36 25 82
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, IUPUI 32.
3-point goals -- IUPUI 5-18 (Clark 3, Cole 2), Hawaii 10-19 (Kuebler 7, Sensley 2, Lee 1). Personal fouls -- IUPUI 10, Hawaii 16. Steals -- IUPUI 3 (Miller, Cole, Harvey), Hawaii 3 (Lee, Kuebler, Sensley). Blocked shots -- IUPUI 0, Hawaii 3 (Shimonovich 2, Sensley). Turnovers -- IUPUI 14 (Clark 4, Bradley 3, Miller 2, Harvey 2, Crenshaw, Cole, Booyer), Hawaii 12 (Martin 4, Lee 2, Sensley 2, Blackett 2, Shimonovich, Carter). A -- 6,892.
