[ WARRIOR BASKETBALL ]
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Hawaii's Paul Jesinskis slammed one home against the Rice Owls during yesterday's game at the Stan Sheriff Center.
’Bows send off
seniors in styleHawaii dismantles Rice
to add to the Senior Day
festivities
Senior Day for the Hawaii basketball team went as close to the script as the Rainbow Warriors could have hoped.
The Rainbows treated the Stan Sheriff Center crowd of 7,627 to a convincing 91-77 victory over Rice in a key Western Athletic Conference showdown yesterday afternoon, setting the stage for a joyous sendoff for five UH seniors.
"It'll be the most memorable game for me," senior center Paul Jesinskis said as he received leis and congratulations from fans who stuck around after the game. "I'm going to leave Hawaii with a great feeling. Everything worked out great and I'm glad the fans were here to share it with us. It was such a cool night."
Hawaii improved to 19-8 overall and 11-5 in the WAC and embarks on its final regular-season road trip tomorrow tied with Rice (20-8, 11-5 WAC) and Nevada for second place in the conference. Texas-El Paso is alone in first at 13-4.
The Rainbows shot 54.5 percent from the field yesterday and had five players score in double figures while dishing out 21 assists.
"I think it's our best overall performance from beginning to end," Hawaii coach Riley Wallace said. "(Rice was) ready to play and we were ready to play and we went after each other like two titans would. Our guys answered every call and we were able to break them down."
Sophomore forward Julian Sensley helped send the seniors out on a high note by posting 21 points, five rebounds and eight assists. He hit eight of his 10 shots from the field and also had two blocks and two steals.
"We came out with fire, and were just ready to play," Sensley said. "I know we didn't want to play our last game at home and lose."
The seniors combined for 49 points in their final regular-season appearance at the Sheriff Center. Guard Michael Kuebler hit three 3-pointers and finished with 13 points. Center Haim Shimonovich scored just four points, but he grabbed 10 rebounds.
Hawaii forward Phil Martin was hampered by foul trouble early and bid farewell to the home fans with six points. He broke the school record for games played by taking the floor for the 121st time in the Rainbow uniform.
The bench contributed to the win, as senior guard Jason Carter hit for 14 points, while forward Jeff Blackett and Jesinskis had 12 each.
After scoring 11 points in UH's win over Tulsa last Friday, Carter again sparked the team with his energy and a season-high three 3-point goals.
"It felt real good," Carter said. "It's a good way to leave Hawaii, with two big games like that and just leaving in style."
Jesinskis set a career high with his point total and gave the team valuable minutes in the post working against Rice's talented front court.
"He was important because he's a banger," Wallace said. "He didn't let them shove him around."
Rice was led by forward Michael Harris, who scored 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds. Center Yamar Diene made all five of his shots from the field and finished with 14 points.
But Wallace was pleased with the overall effort of his big men.
"They got some scores down in there, but we were fighting it and that's a big sign. You have to make them work for everything," he said.
The Rainbows were also able to contain Owls guard Jason McKrieth, who scored 19 points in Rice's 76-73 win in Houston on Jan. 28. McKrieth scored nine points and was 4-for-13 from the field as the Owls had their five-game winning streak snapped.
"We were our own worst enemy tonight," Rice coach Willis Wilson said. "The effort was good enough to win tonight. I just felt like we beat ourselves and it was early and it was often."
Hawaii took command with an often spectacular first-half performance and rolled to a 49-35 halftime lead.
The Rainbows got the crowd jumping with three alley-oop dunks, two to Sensley and another to the 5-foot-10 Carter.
The teams traded baskets for much of the half, until Hawaii edged ahead before opening up a 49-33 lead thanks to a 9-0 run late in the half.
Sensley started the run by throwing down a dunk off a lob from Kuebler, who followed by draining a 3-pointer. Carter drove along the baseline for a layup and Blackett hit two free throws to give UH a controlling lead.
WAC standings
Yesterday
Conference Overall W L Pct. W L Pct. UTEP 13 4 .765 22 5 .815 Rice 11 5 .688 20 8 .714 Hawaii 11 5 .688 19 8 .704 Nevada 11 5 .688 18 8 .692 Boise St. 11 6 .647 19 8 .704 Fresno St. 8 8 .500 12 14 .462 Louisiana Tech 7 9 .438 13 13 .500 SMU 4 12 .250 10 16 .385 Tulsa 4 12 .250 8 18 .308 San Jose St. 1 15 .063 6 20 .231
Tulsa 65, San Jose St. 64
Hawaii 91, Rice 77
Hawaii 91, Rice 77
Owls (20-8, 11-5 WAC)
Warriors (19-8, 11-5 WAC)
fg fga ft fta min reb a tp Gillespie 4 11 0 2 25 2 1 9 Smith 2 4 2 2 25 2 5 7 Harris 7 9 4 5 33 9 0 18 McKrieth 4 13 0 0 27 5 2 9 Diene 5 5 4 8 30 6 0 14 Williams 5 8 0 0 14 1 1 10 Harrison 1 4 0 0 16 2 1 2 Almond 3 7 2 2 12 3 1 8 Moore 0 4 0 0 17 1 1 0 Killings 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 TEAM 2 Totals 31 65 12 19 200 33 12 77
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 2 4 2 2 16 2 0 6 Shimonovich 2 7 0 0 26 10 3 4 Lee 2 3 4 4 19 2 5 9 Kuebler 3 10 4 4 37 2 2 13 Sensley 8 10 4 7 38 5 8 21 Sottos 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 Carter 5 8 1 3 21 2 2 14 Peciukas 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 Blackett 4 7 4 4 24 5 0 12 Jesinskis 4 6 4 4 14 5 1 12 Totals 30 55 23 28 200 33 21 91
Halftime--Hawaii 49, Rice 35.
3-point goals--Rice 3-13 (Smith 1-1, Gillespie 1-2, McKrieth 1-3, Williams 0-1, Almond 0-1, Harrison 0-2, Moore 0-3), Hawaii 8-18 (Carter 3-6, Kuebler 3-7, Lee 1-2, Sensley 1-2, Blackett 0-1). Personal fouls--Rice 22, Hawaii 17. Fouled out--Diene, Shimonovich.
Steals--Rice 10 (Smith 3, Harris 2, Gillespie, McKrieth, Harrison, Almond, Moore), Hawaii 8 (Carter 3, Kuebler 2, Sensley 2, Shimonovich). Blocked shots--Rice 2 (Harris, Diene), Hawaii 4 (Sensley 2, Martin, Carter). Turnovers--Rice 18 (Diene 4, Harris 3, Williams 3, Almond 3, Smith 2, Gillespie, McKrieth, Harrison), Hawaii 18 (Lee 4, Sensley 4, Carter 3, Jesinskis 2, Blackett, Peciukas, Kuebler, Shimonovich, Martin). Officials--Bill Kennedy, Jim Bannowsky, Bryan Barr. Attendance--9,214.
