[ RAINBOW BASKETBALL ]
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Hawaii senior Michael Kuebler put up a shot in the second half last night for two of his game-high 28 points against Utah State.
’Bows drop
No. 25 AggiesAfter taming a hostile crowd
for win No. 20, Hawaii is
coming home for the second
round of the NIT
LOGAN, Utah >> Thanks to a historic road performance, the Hawaii basketball team's journey will continue with a trip back to Honolulu.
For the first time ever, the Rainbow Warriors defeated a nationally ranked team on its home court and advanced to the second round of the National Invitation Tournament with a 85-74 victory over No. 25 Utah State yesterday at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
The Rainbows silenced a boisterous crowd of 8,976 by snapping Utah State's 17-game home winning streak, making them only the eighth visiting team to leave with a win in the last six years.
"It's unbelievable," said UH forward Jeff Blackett, who learned of USU's home-court mystique while growing up in nearby Ogden. "That says a lot about our team and our coaches. The coaches did an amazing job preparing us to come into this environment."
With the win, Hawaii (20-11) broke the 20-win mark for the 10th time and earned another game at the Stan Sheriff Center, where the Rainbows will face either Nebraska or Niagara in the NIT's second round on Monday.
"I'm elated," UH coach Riley Wallace said upon hearing the news that the Rainbows would be headed home.
Utah State, which entered the week bristling over its exclusion from the NCAA Tournament, ends one of its greatest seasons at 25-4.
Hawaii guard Michael Kuebler led one of UH's best all-around performances of the season with 28 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the field and hit four of six 3-pointers, breaking the school record for 3-pointers in a season in the process.
Blackett thrilled his friends and family who drove up for the game by hitting nine of 12 shots and finishing with 18 points off the bench.
Point guard Jason Carter drained three 3-pointers in scoring 13 points and dishing out six assists.
Forward Julian Sensley contributed 12 points, nine rebounds and four assists. He also had two blocks and three steals on the defensive end.
"I think it just started out early with Kuebs knocking down some shots and then we just got everybody involved, everybody played their role," Sensley said.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Hawaii coach Riley Wallace reacted to a referee's call during the first half of yesterday's game against No. 25 Utah State.
The Aggies, the top defensive team in the Big West this season, gave up a season high in points.
Hawaii shot 65.5 percent from the field to take a 43-32 lead at halftime and finished the game at 61.8 percent. The Rainbows hit eight of 13 shots (61.5 percent) beyond the 3-point line and drained nine of 11 free throws.
"I thought (USU coach Stew Morrill) had them ready to play, but when we jumped on them, we were so hot, they kind of lost a little bit of intensity and we didn't let up," Wallace said.
"When you shoot like we shot on all three levels, it's tough to beat you, no matter what kind of defense they're playing."
Utah State forward Spencer Nelson led the Aggies with a career-high 24 points and 11 rebounds. USU guard Cardell Butler scored 15 points, while Mark Brown and Mike Ahmad contributed 11 each.
Despite the disappointment of Selection Sunday, the Aggies didn't use the letdown as an excuse for the loss.
"We're basketball players and when you step on the court you're supposed to be ready to play," Brown said. "We didn't have energy and we got what we deserved."
A Hawaii team that had lost its last six games away from home set the tone right from the tip as Kuebler found Phil Martin for a layup four seconds into the contest.
The Rainbows took command with a 9-0 run to open up a 19-11 lead and did not trail again.
"It's always good to come out early and get your shots," Carter said. "We got in a good rhythm and we got in a zone."
Utah State cut the UH lead to 25-24 with a run of its own capped by a 3-pointer by Butler from the right corner that turned up the decibel level in the arena.
But the Rainbows responded with another spurt and opened up a double-digit advantage at 34-24 on a 3-pointer by Carter.
Hawaii continued its roll after halftime and took its biggest lead at 62-44 with 10 minutes left. Kuebler started the 9-0 run with a 3-pointer, scored on a layup and closed the spurt by feeding Martin for an easy bucket.
"He was amazing tonight," Morrill said. "He shot over us, around us -- we didn't have anyone that could do much with him."
Utah State rallied back and cut the UH lead to eight on a 3-pointer by Brown with 5:25 left. But the Aggies would get no closer as UH traded baskets with them down the stretch.
Tickets on sale today: Tickets for Monday's NIT game at the Stan Sheriff Center go on sale today starting at 8 a.m. Seats range from $5 to $18 and will be available at the Sheriff Center box office and online at www.etickethawaii.com.
Season-ticket holders who pre-ordered NIT tickets can pick them up starting at 8 a.m. tomorrow at the Sheriff Center box office only.
Box office hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. today and tomorrow, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday.
Hawaii 85, Utah State 74
Rainbow Warriors (20-11)
Aggies (25-4)
fg fga ft fta min reb a tp Martin 2 3 0 0 13 3 0 4 Sensley 4 7 3 4 35 9 4 12 Shimonovich 4 9 0 0 36 5 1 8 Carter 4 6 2 2 28 0 6 13 Kuebler 10 17 4 5 39 2 6 28 Zivanovic 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 Lee 1 1 0 0 12 2 2 2 Blackett 9 12 0 0 33 6 3 18 Team 1 Totals 34 55 9 11 200 28 22 85
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 Williams 2 6 3 3 25 2 0 8 Nelson 8 13 6 9 31 11 6 24 Harris 2 5 1 2 28 2 1 5 Butler 6 11 2 2 32 1 3 15 Brown 4 8 0 0 30 3 5 11 Huber 0 4 0 1 19 1 2 0 Neil 0 2 0 0 14 2 0 0 Ahmad 3 6 5 5 21 4 0 11 Team 2 Totals 25 55 17 22 200 28 17 74
Halftime -- Hawaii 43, Utah St. 32
3-point goals -- Hawaii 8-13 (Kuebler 4-6, Carter 3-4, Sensley 1-2, Blackett 0-1), Utah St. 7-17 (Brown 3-6, Nelson 2-2, Butler 1-2, Williams 1-2, Neil 0-1, Huber 0-4). Personal fouls -- Hawaii 20, Utah St. 15.
Steals -- Hawaii 7 (Sensley 3, Carter 2, Shimonovich 2), Utah St. 6 (Brown 5, Huber). Blocked shots -- Hawaii 4 (Sensley 2, Shimonovich, Blackett), Utah St. 3 (Ahmad, Harris, Nelson). Turnovers -- Hawaii 12 (Carter 3, Martin 3, Sensley 2, Blackett, Kuebler, Lee, Shimonovich), Utah St. 13 (Nelson 4, Brown 2, Butler 2, Harris 2, Ahmad, Neil, Williams). Officials -- Gabutero, Littlewood, Lehigh. A -- 8,976.
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[ NATIONAL INVITATION TOURNAMENT ]
Kuebler shoots the
lights out for ’Bows
LOGAN, Utah >> During the Hawaii basketball team's practice on Tuesday, a power outage knocked out the lights in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
Last night, Michael Kuebler's lights-out shooting knocked Utah State out of the National Invitation Tournament.
Kuebler continued a string of hot shooting in the NIT in leading UH to an 85-74 victory over the Aggies.
With his 28 points against Utah State, Kuebler is now averaging 23 points and is shooting 57 percent from the floor in three NIT games dating back to last season.
"When he's on like that you want to give him the ball," UH point guard Jason Carter said. "That's pretty much how it's been all year. Kuebs has just been going at it and we just pick up the other pieces for him. When Kuebs is strong like that we win."
Kuebler entered the game needing two 3-pointers to tie the school's single-season record set by Carl English last year. He ignited the Rainbows by draining four from long range, giving him 91 this season.
Although Kuebler has led the Rainbows in scoring all season, he scuffled through the last few weeks of the campaign, which included a 3-for-16 night in a loss at Fresno State, before regaining his touch last night.
"It's been rough," Kuebler admitted after the game. "We had a lot of tough games down the stretch and I haven't been able to find my shot. To come in here in what could have been the last game of the year and knock down shots feels real good."
The victory breathed life into the Rainbows' season and the careers of five UH seniors -- Carter, Kuebler, Phil Martin, Haim Shimonovich and Paul Jesinskis.
The win over the No. 25 Aggies was reminiscent of UH's performance in a 85-68 victory at UNLV in last year's NIT. Kuebler scored 21 points in that game and hit six 3-pointers in a second-round loss to Minnesota.
"We were in this situation last year and we had a great time," Kuebler said. "It was one last time to play together and just make the most of it. There's nothing we can do with our season but just try to get to New York.
"We huddled up (before the game) and said win or lose we're going to come off the court with a smile on our face just knowing we had fun and left it all out there. That's what we did."
As a team, Hawaii hit eight of 13 3-pointers to loosen up Utah State's 1-2-2 zone defense and then sliced through the Aggies defense in its halfcourt sets.
"We knew they were going to press us, we knew they were going to zone us," UH coach Riley Wallace said. "We hit the 3s in the zone and we didn't turn it over ... and then we were able to execute enough in our offense to do the job."
Thanks to the win, Hawaii now returns home for a second-round game against either Nebraska or Niagara on Monday with the momentum of having pulled off the upset.
"A lot of people didn't expect it, we had a lot of doubters," Carter said. "So for us to come out and play as good as we did and shoot as well as we did, this just gives us confidence."
