[ RAINBOW BASKETBALL ]
Gai dominant
in title gameFairfield's big man does
everything but stop Sensley
1 more time in extra frame
Hawaii coach Riley Wallace said on Monday his Rainbow Warriors could deal with anything an opponent could throw at them. The deliberate strangers from Fairfield nearly made him eat his words.
The Stags gave the Warriors all they could handle at the Stan Sheriff Center last night with a slowdown offense and a monster of a player in junior forward Deng Gai, a 6-foot-9 jumping jack from the Sudan.
Gai dominated the championship game of the Rainbow Classic -- that is, until the final nine seconds of overtime, when Julian Sensley hit a 3-pointer to give the Warriors a 50-49 victory.
"You tell him to keep going and keep your head up," Fairfield coach Tim O'Toole said. "We've got Michigan next. We've got to fly 6,000 miles, we've got Michigan, then we play Duke so it's no time to feel sorry for ourselves. We got to realize we did plenty of good things, and against good competition."
Gai blocked Sensley at two key points, with 1:45 left in regulation and 3:51 remaining in overtime.
Sensley finished with 12 points, on 4-for-16 shooting from the floor, as Gai kept him under wraps, as well as forcing other Hawaii players to change their shots, or not venture into the paint.
Gai made the all-tournament team. He scored a team-high 17 points and added a game-high 18 rebounds and six blocks. His 16 blocks in three games tied the tournament record.
His hook shot with 2:32 left in overtime gave Fairfield a 49-45 lead, and it looked like the stage was set for a Stag party.
But Fairfield (7-2) fell to 2-2 in overtime games this season as Michael Kuebler hit his second of two OT 3-pointers before Sensley's game-winner.
DeWitt Maxwell missed a 15-footer at the buzzer.
"It was dead-on, but that's basketball," O'Toole said. "We did have a good look, just missed the shot."
Fairfield outrebounded Hawaii 50-39.
"We wanted to focus on the glass. We knew if we didn't win the rebounding battle Hawaii was going to take it and run on us. That's part of their strength. We did a pretty good job on the rebounding," O'Toole said.
"But Sensley hits a bomb on us, and that's that."
Boarding party: Hawaii center Haim Shimonovich got his 500th career rebound early in the first half last night. He joins eight other players in school history with at least 500 points and 500 rebounds, including teammate Phil Martin.
Impressed: O'Toole stood and applauded when Hawaii guard Michael Kuebler's name was called after the game.
"The kid, I shouldn't call him a kid, he's not a kid. But Kuebler, he's special. A special player," O'Toole said of Kuebler, who scored a game-high 22 points for the Rainbows.
Big names return: After a year as a mid-major affair, the Rainbow Classic will welcome the return of schools from the nation's top conferences next year.
Joining Hawaii in the 41st Classic will be Alabama-Birmingham (Conference USA), Clemson (Atlantic Coast), Georgetown (Big East), Indiana State (Missouri Valley), Long Beach State (Big West), Louisiana State (Southeastern) and Southern California (Pac-10).
Along with UH, USC (1975) and Clemson (1980) have won Rainbow Classic titles in past years.
The tournament, traditionally held the week before New Years, will be played before Christmas for just the second time in its history. Next year's Classic is set for Dec. 21-24.