[ RAINBOW BASKETBALL ]
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Hawaii's Michael Kuebler came up with a key loose ball in a scramble with Tulsa's Kenneth Kelley with two seconds remaining in the second overtime yesterday.
Lee ices Hawaii’s
victory over TulsaThe point guard’s big shots
in the second OT gives UH the
edge over the Golden Hurricane
TULSA, Okla. >> Hawaii point guard Logan Lee wore an ice pack on his shooting hand after directing his team to a 73-71 double-overtime victory Saturday at Tulsa.
As cold-blooded as Lee played down the stretch, he probably caused the temperature of the ice pack to drop.
Lee hit the biggest shot in an epic game full of big shots. He broke a tie and beat the shot clock with a long, desperation 3-pointer midway through the second overtime.
"There was about one second on the shot clock and he's about 28 feet out," Tulsa coach John Phillips said. "We did everything we were supposed to do. He just made a tough shot."
Then, after Tulsa rallied from a three-point deficit to lead by one, Lee stepped to the free-throw line and gave the Rainbow Warriors the lead for good by hitting consecutive free throws with 56.4 seconds left.
Lee entered the game with a .625 free-throw percentage.
"I usually make one and miss one," he said in regard to free throws. "But when it comes down to it and the game is on the line, I am confident enough to think I am going to hit all of the ones I take."
Lee's family members were among 7,604 in attendance at Donald W. Reynolds Center to watch the San Antonio native play through a first-half hand injury (four jammed fingers) and help Hawaii survive despite 35.6 percent shooting and an off night by WAC scoring leader Michael Kuebler, who hit only four of 16 field-goal attempts for 11 points.
The Rainbow Warriors, who improved to 15-4 overall and 7-2 in WAC games to remain tied atop the league standings, got iron-man performances from Julian Sensley and Phil Martin, who played all 50 minutes. Sensley matched a career-best with 20 points and grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds. Martin scored 15 points.
Three other Hawaii players scored 11 points, including reserve Jeff Blackett, who combined with Sensley to score 25 points after halftime and all of their team's points in the first overtime.
"When (Kuebler) is not having a good night, we've got to step up," said Sensley, who joked that Kuebler took the night off and still got a double-double. Kuebler snared a career-best 11 rebounds.
"He really didn't take the night off," Hawaii coach Riley Wallace said. "He worked his butt off and helped us somewhere else."
Wallace said he challenged his team to play better during a halftime talk. The Rainbow Warriors shot only 28 percent from the field and committed 10 turnovers in a first half that seemed like a carryover from a 76-73 loss Wednesday at Rice. His team responded by rallying from a nine-point deficit in the last 13:18 to force overtime.
"I really appreciate how we answered the call in the second half," Wallace said.
Hawaii missed potential game-winning shots at the end of regulation and the first overtime. Tulsa faltered at the free-throw line in the second overtime, hitting only five of 10 attempts. Hawaii led by one point when TU's Jarius Glenn, who was 2-for-6 at the line in the second overtime, missed consecutive free throws with 26.9 seconds remaining.
Tulsa was forced to foul and Kuebler hit one of two free throws with 18 seconds left to push the margin to two.
Hawaii then got a defensive stop, forcing a turnover when Kuebler emerged with possession following a loose-ball scramble.
Lying on the floor with the ball, Kuebler called timeout with 2.0 seconds left. Game over? Not quite.
A cross-court inbounds pass was stolen near midcourt by Tulsa post player Anthony Price, who missed a running 3-point attempt at the buzzer. It was his first career trey attempt.
"It wouldn't have surprised me if it had gone in the way the night was going," Wallace said.
Tulsa, seemingly bound for its first losing season since 1988, dropped to 7-11 overall, 3-6 in WAC games and 0-3 all-time in overtime games against Hawaii.
"This is a big lift, especially since we lost to Rice," Lee said. "Tulsa is one of the hardest places to play in the country basically and we came in here and stole one. It's a good boost for us."
Jason Parker, who entered the game as the WAC's second-leading scorer behind Kuebler, led Tulsa with 26 points.
"In a lot of ways, both teams deserved to win," Phillips said. "But they don't do it that way."
"I'm proud of my team and I'm sorry for Tulsa and their fans that came out," Wallace said. "They saw a great game, but I know that's not what they wanted. They wanted a win. If they keep playing like that, they are going to win some games."
WAC men's standings
Yesterday
Conference AllGames W L Pct. W L Pct. Hawaii 7 2 .778 15 4 .789 Rice 7 2 .778 15 5 .750 Fresno St. 6 3 .667 10 8 .556 UTEP 6 3 .667 15 4 .789 Nevada 6 3 .667 12 6 .667 Louisiana Tech 4 5 .444 10 9 .526 Boise St. 4 5 .444 12 7 .632 Tulsa 3 6 .333 7 11 .389 SMU 2 7 .222 8 11 .421 San Jose St. 0 9 .000 5 14 .263
Hawaii 73, Tulsa 71, 2 OT
Rice 82, San Jose St. 49
Boise St. 61, SMU 59
UTEP 71, Louisiana Tech 68
Nevada 84, Fresno St. 65
Hawaii 73, Tulsa 71, 2OT
Warriors (15-4, 7-2 WAC)
Golden Hurricane (7-11, 3-6 WAC)
fg fga ft fta min reb a tp Martin 6 17 3 4 50 8 2 15 Sensley 7 14 4 4 50 13 4 20 Shimonovich 1 3 0 0 15 2 0 2 Lee 3 7 3 4 43 2 1 11 Kuebler 4 16 1 2 43 11 0 11 Carter 0 2 0 0 7 2 2 0 Nash 1 1 0 0 7 0 1 3 Blackett 4 12 3 4 33 3 3 11 Jesinskis 0 1 0 0 2 1 0 0 TEAM 8 Totals 26 73 14 18 250 50 13 73
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 Glenn 4 7 7 14 45 10 2 15 Teichmann 0 2 2 2 13 4 0 2 Price 3 11 2 4 45 11 0 8 Parker 8 19 8 8 47 2 3 26 Collins 3 12 2 2 42 5 1 9 Wallace 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 Kelley 2 5 0 0 20 2 1 4 Ramsdell 3 5 1 2 36 5 0 7 Totals 23 61 22 32 250 39 7 71
Halftime-Tulsa 27, Hawaii 21.
3-point goals--Hawaii 7-23 (Lee 2-4, Sensley 2-5, Kuebler 2-9, Nash 1-1, Blackett 0-3, Carter 0-1), Tulsa 3-18 (Parker 2-8, Collins 1-6, Price 0-1, Teichmann 0-1, Kelley 0-1, Ramsdell 0-1). Personal fouls--Hawaii 23, Tulsa 18. Fouled out--Teichmann.
Steals--Hawaii 7 (Sensley 3, Martin 2, Lee, Kuebler), Tulsa 7 (Price 2, Kelley 2, Glenn, Parker, Collins). Blocked shots--Hawaii 2 (Sensley 2), Tulsa 8 (Ramsdell 3, Glenn 2, Price 2, Teichmann). Turnovers--Hawaii 17 (Kuebler 5, Martin 4, Sensley 4, Shimonovich 2, Lee, TEAM), Tulsa 13 (Parker 3, Collins 3, Teichmann 2, TEAM 2, Glenn, Price, Ramsdell). Officials--K. C. Ely, Duane Allen, Ruben Ramos. Attendance--7,604.
