[ COLLEGE BASKETBALL ]
BYUH’s incredible rally
beats Hawaii Pacific
It seemed like an impossible situation. Down by five with less than a minute to play.
Shawn Opunui was not worried.
The sophomore guard for No. 22 Brigham Young-Hawaii calmly sank three free throws that jump-started a 7-1 run in the final 58 seconds that gave the Division II Seasiders a 70-69 victory over Hawaii Pacific. It was the fifth consecutive win by BYUH (15-2, 5-0 Pacific West) over HPU (6-11, 3-3).
Austin Smylie's tip-in with 19 seconds to go sealed the victory for the Seasiders, ranked second in the West Region. The sophomore forward, finishing with 12 points, also stole the ball on HPU's last possession preserving the win.
"That was textbook Austin Smylie, doing all the dirty work for us," said Opunui, who finished with 26 points. "He won the game for us on the basket, then gets the huge steal.
"It shows the character of the team. Any team in the country would have quit right there, but we didn't and that showed character. The free throws were big but the entire last minute was big."
it appeared that the Sea Warriors would end their five-game losing streak against the Seasiders, going ahead at 68-63 with 72 seconds left on a 3-pointer by Albert Tecul. But after Opunui's free throws cut the lead to 68-66, the Seasiders forced two HPU turnovers and the Sea Warriors only scored one free throw the rest of the way.
Marvin Noble hit the first of a one-and-one with 26.3 seconds to go, putting HPU ahead at 69-66 but he missed the second. BYUH's Jake Crisman sank his two free throws two seconds later and the put-back by Smylie proved to be the game-winner.
"Yep, one free throw," said second-year HPU coach Russell Dung, who has not beaten BYUH in five tries. "But it didn't come down to just that. We made some great comebacks in the second half and didn't finish."
"This team seems to have seven lives," said BYUH coach Ken Wagner. "All year long, they've hit big shots. You think the game is over and they've come back. I'm really proud of this team.
"This is one of those games where you feel sorry for the other team. They played great. Even though HPU doesn't have a great record, they're a really good team. This was huge for us. Anytime you can get one on the road, it's big."
The two teams meet again Tuesday at Blaisdell.
Opunui, leading the country in 3-point shooting percentage (.568), was 5-for-8 from behind the arc and hit all seven of his free throws. Crisman added 17 points and Smylie 12.
For HPU, Aaron Abrams had 26 points, hitting on five of seven 3-point attempts. Noble finished with 11 and Tecul 10.
Abrams' two 3-pointers midway through the second period gave the Sea Warriors their first lead of the half at 50-49.
A basket by Audrius Peciukas gave HPU a 52-49 lead and, after a basket by Chrisman, Tecul's 3-pointer put the Sea Warriors up at 55-51.
The lead didn't last long as the Seasiders scored six unanswered points to go ahead at 57-55. HPU regained the lead on a 3-pointer by Noble and the Sea Warriors appeared to have the game in hand after a 3-pointer by Tecul with 72 seconds to go that put HPU up at 68-63.
Opunui changed it all with his free throws.
HPU took control early, jumping out to a 17-9 lead in the opening six minutes. Opunui kept BYUH in the game, hitting for two of his four 3-pointers of the first half.
The Seasiders took advantage of early foul trouble by Peciukas, who left the game with two fouls and three points with 13:07 remaining.
Without the 6-foot-9 sophomore clogging the middle for HPU, BYUH went on a 13-4 run. Opunui's third 3-pointer with 4:30 to go gave the Seasiders their first lead since the opening minutes at 24-23; his fourth 3-pointer 75 seconds later put the Seasiders up at 27-25 with 3:15 left.
MSU-Billings 100, UH-Hilo 79: At Billings, Mont., Buddy Windy Boy led five players in double figures with 23 points as the Yellowjackets (11-4, 3-2 Pacific West) beat the Vulcans (11-5, 3-3).
Windy Boy was 6-for-11 from 3-point range to go with a 5-for-10 effort by Cameron Munoz, who finished with 19 points.
Ryan Abrahams led Hilo with 15 points, followed by Terrance Troupe with 11 and Alex Cabagnot with 10.
Chaminade 61, Western New Mexico 52: At Silver City, N.M., Nick Frey scored 15 points and 11 rebounds against his former team as the Silverswords defeated the Mustangs.
Donald Rogers added 11 points for the Silverswords (5-10, 2-3), who shot 47 percent from the floor and 83 percent from the free-throw line.
BYU-HAWAII 70, HAWAII PACIFIC 69
BYU-Hawaii: Jeff Pittard 0, Spencer Lynn 2, Jason Solis 2, Shawn Opunui 26, Michael Stowell 5, Matt Winans 0, C.J. Fellars 6, Jake Chrisman 17, Sa Tanuvassa 0, Beau Nobmann 0, Austin Smylie 12.Hawaii Pacific: Dante Sykes 13, Zach Stephens 0, Albert Tecul 10, Marvin Noble 11, Audrius Peciukas 7, Jay Bussey 0, Aaron Abrams 26, Kapena O'Neal 2.
Halftime -- BYUH 35, HPU 28. Rebounds -- BYUH 27 (Smylie 8), HPU 31 (Peciukas 7). Assists -- BYUH 14 (Nobmann 4), HPU 17 (Sykes 7). Steals -- BYUH 5 (Opunui, Crisman 2), HPU 6 (Sykes, Tecul, Abrams 2). 3-point goals--BYU-Hawaii 6 (Opunui 5, Stowell), Hawaii Pacific 10 (Abrams 5, Noble 2, Tecul 2, Peciukas).
Attendance--605.