[ RAINBOW BASKETBALL ]
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Hawaii guard Jason Carter was unable to score against Rice forward Yamar Diene in the first half of yesterday's game.
Owls oust UH
from tourneyMartin's last-second shot doesn’t
fall as Rice edges Hawaii in
the WAC tournament
FRESNO, Calif. >> For a second, it appeared the bounces would fall Hawaii's way once again.
Twice this season, the Rainbow Warriors extended games into overtime with last-second putbacks. So when Phil Martin grabbed the rebound off Logan Lee's intentionally missed free throw with 3.4 seconds left and Hawaii trailing by two yesterday, it looked like fortune would again wear green and white.
Martin's shot was on line and danced on the rim. But instead of falling through the net, the ball bounced out of the hoop sending Hawaii to a heartbreaking 70-68 loss to Rice in the quarterfinals of the McCaffrey Western Athletic Conference tournament.
"I have no explanation but to blame it on the basketball gods," said a teary-eyed Martin after the game. "You have no control over what they want to happen."
Rice (22-9), the fourth seed in the tournament, advanced to a semifinal meeting with top-seeded Nevada set for 4 p.m. today. It will be the first semifinal appearance for the Owls, who suffered one-point losses in the early rounds of the previous two tournaments.
"There's nothing wrong with the ball bouncing your way," Rice coach Willis Wilson said. "We've had the ball bounce against us so many times over the years. You can't get that bounce unless you're a good team."
The reversal of Hawaii's 62-61 overtime victory over the Owls in last year's WAC quarterfinals left the Rainbows at 19-11 and in need of a bid to the National Invitation Tournament to continue their season.
Hawaii lost seven of its last 10 games after a 16-4 start, including six straight away from home.
"We had the toughest road down the stretch," Hawaii coach Riley Wallace said. "I think we got tired at the end of the season compared to the energy and the way we played early on."
The Rainbows couldn't contain Rice forward Michael Harris, who scored 29 points on 13-of-20 shooting from the field. Most of his points came from point-blank range, as he hit 10 shots in the paint.
"There was a point in the second half where I needed to be more aggressive," Harris said. "I got two fouls early in the first half. I thought I was letting the team down by sitting on the bench. In the second half, I was more aggressive. Coach told me to stop fading away and go toward the rim."
Owls guard Jason McKrieth complemented Harris by scoring 19 points.
The Owls shot 56 percent from the field, including 67 percent in the second half (16-for-24).
"That's something that we talked about going into the game, just making a concerted effort to stay with the post guys and give them a good look and I think that paid dividends for us," Wilson said.
Hawaii guard Michael Kuebler took just three shots in the first half, but caught fire after halftime to score 13 of his team-high 15 points.
Julian Sensley recorded his seventh double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Jeff Blackett came off the bench to score 13 points, most of them coming late as UH tried to rally from a six-point deficit in the final two minutes.
"They beat us; we didn't beat ourselves tonight," Wallace said. "We were in a battle ... it's a typical Rice-Hawaii battle."
Hawaii led 39-35 at halftime, but Rice scored the first six points of the second half as Harris took over in the post. He also stepped out to hit a 3-pointer to give Rice a 53-48 lead.
Kuebler found his shooting touch and scored 10 straight points for UH. His 3-pointer from the top of the key cut Rice's lead to 61-60 with 5:45 left, but it would be UH's last field goal for the next five minutes.
"We had a stretch there in the second half where we weren't able to hit any shots," Kuebler said. "Our defense kept us in it, but we needed to get more points on offense."
After Blackett tied the game at 61 with a free throw, McKrieth's jumper and two buckets from J.R. Harrison gave the Owls a 67-61 lead with 2:10 left.
Rice missed eight of 10 free throws in the second half, and when Rashid Smith missed the front end of a one-and-one with 11.7 seconds left, the Rainbows took possession trailing 70-67.
Lee dribbled the ball upcourt and was fouled by Smith with 3.4 seconds left. After making the first free throw, Lee intentionally missed the second and the ball bounced high and into Martin's hands.
"I got a piece of the ball and Martin went up and got it," McKrieth said. "I just was thinking, 'bounce out, bounce out.' "
"I swear the ball went in," Martin said. "(Blackett) was in front of my face, he was already jumping, we thought we had the game tied. The next thing you know the ball is in play and it's like 'What's going on here?'
"If I hit that shot we were going to win that game."
Rice 70, Hawaii 68
Warriors (19-11)
Owls (22-9)
FG FGA FT FTA MIN REB A TP Martin 2 9 0 0 26 8 2 4 Sensley 5 13 3 4 38 11 1 14 Shimonovich 2 4 1 2 21 5 1 5 Carter 3 5 0 0 20 1 3 8 Kuebler 6 15 0 0 35 5 5 15 Sottos 0 1 0 0 5 0 2 0 Lee 1 1 1 2 20 0 3 3 Blackett 4 6 5 6 23 3 1 13 Jesinskis 3 6 0 0 12 2 0 6 TEAM 2 Totals 26 60 10 14 200 37 18 68
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 Harris 13 20 2 3 32 7 0 29 Diene 2 3 2 3 37 9 0 6 Gillespie 0 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 Smith 1 3 0 1 30 3 9 2 McKrieth 8 16 2 6 33 5 3 19 Williams 1 2 0 0 4 0 0 2 Kollick 0 1 0 0 8 0 0 0 Harrison 2 3 0 0 31 4 0 4 Almond 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 Moore 4 6 0 2 17 4 1 8 Totals 31 55 6 15 200 32 13 70
Halftime--Rice 70, Hawaii 68.
3-point goals--Hawaii 6-12 (Kuebler 3-5, Carter 2-3, Sensley 1-3, Sottos 0-1), Rice 2-5 (McKrieth 1-1, Harris 1-2, Gillespie 0-1, Kollick 0-1). Personal fouls--Hawaii 15, Rice 18.
Steals--Hawaii 7 (Sensley 2, Carter, Kuebler, Sottos, Lee, Blackett), Rice 9 (Harris 3, Smith 3, Diene 2, Moore). Blocked shots--Hawaii 2 (Sensley, Blackett), Rice 3 (Harrison 2, Diene). Turnovers--Hawaii 17 (Kuebler 4, Sensley 2, Shimonovich 2, Carter 2, Jesinskis 2, Martin, Sottos, Lee, Blackett, TEAM), Rice 15 (Diene 4, McKrieth 3, Smith 2, Harris 2, Gillespie, Williams, Harrison, Almond). Officials--Winston Stith; Kelly Self; Gerry Pollard. Attendance--5,303.
