[ NATIONAL INVITATION TOURNAMENT ]
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Michigan's Daniel Horton drove around Hawaii forward Julian Sensley for two points during last night's NIT quarterfinal at Crisler Arena.
Rainbows’ run ends
Michigan sends Hawaii home
just one win short of reaching
Madison Square Garden
ANN ARBOR, Mich. >> For a third time, Hawaii basketball coach Riley Wallace had his team one win away from New York City.
Three times now, the Rainbow Warriors have come up just short.
Hawaii's season ended with an 88-73 loss to Michigan last night in the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament.
The Wolverines, playing in front of 10,306 frenzied fans at Crisler Arena, advanced to the NIT semifinals at Madison Square Garden to play the Notre Dame-Oregon winner on Tuesday.
Hawaii ended its spirited postseason run with a record of 21-12. Wallace has had two other teams reach the NIT quarterfinals in his 17 seasons as coach.
The Rainbows haven't made it to New York since 1974.
"We've been there now three times in this position, and haven't gotten that game," Wallace said. "It's disappointing because they really wanted it."
UH guard Michael Kuebler ended his college career as the game's leading scorer with 19 points, including 5-for-11 from 3-point range.
Lester Abram, who hadn't played in three games because of a shoulder injury, led Michigan with 17 points.
Abram was a surprise addition to the Michigan lineup, helping the Wolverines get out in transition and run more than Wallace expected from watching scouting tapes.
"We beat a basketball team that's pretty darn good," Michigan coach Tommy Amaker said. "It's obvious that the long trip may have figured into the last nine or 10 minutes."
Despite getting into Ann Arbor on Tuesday evening after defeating Nebraska in a Monday night home game, Hawaii made a game of it in the first half.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Michigan's Dion Harris was sandwiched between UH's Phil Martin and Michael Kuebler.
After eight ties and two lead changes, the Wolverines (21-11) surged ahead with a late run that gave them a 43-37 halftime lead.
The teams traded baskets again early in the second half before another Michigan run pumped the lead to double digits.
"The second half was our downfall," UH senior Phil Martin said. "We weren't executing. Mind lapses and mistakes."
Sophomore Julian Sensley, who had 16 points, said he thought the Rainbows were prepared for the game physically, but not mentally.
Wallace said his players really couldn't concentrate when they held a practice Tuesday evening. "We were just zombies," he said.
By game time yesterday, the Rainbows were better but still not at their peak.
"I thought they were about 75 percent, but I think they wore down," Wallace said. "You're asking them to do the impossible: come in and beat a very good Michigan team at home with a great crowd."
Wallace did not use fatigue as an excuse, but he said some of the signs of it were 3-point shots that came up short and the fact that the Rainbows took so many 3s because they couldn't get power cuts to the basket.
Wallace left Ann Arbor pleased overall with the 21-win season his players delivered.
"I'm very proud of them," Wallace said. "I've never had a team I've been more proud of. We asked them to do more than any team in the history of Hawaii on travel this year."
A five-minute field-goal drought in the last six minutes of the game by Hawaii allowed Michigan to extend its lead to as many as 23.
The loss ended an NIT run that included a first-round upset at No. 25 Utah State last week and a thrilling home win over Nebraska on Monday.
The team is scheduled to return to Honolulu this afternoon.
"It was just a great experience," Kuebler said. "I'm really proud to be a part of this team. I love playing with all the guys on it. It's been probably the best two years of my life."
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Michigan 88, Hawaii 73
Rainbows (21-12)
Wolverines (21-11)
fg fga ft fta min reb a tp Martin 3 4 0 0 26 5 1 6 Sensley 6 12 3 4 35 2 5 16 Shimonovich 6 9 0 0 30 8 1 12 Carter 1 6 1 2 25 1 3 4 Kuebler 6 13 2 2 38 0 8 19 Sottos 0 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 Zivanovic 1 2 0 0 7 1 1 2 Lee 0 4 1 2 15 1 0 1 Peciukas 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 Nash 1 1 0 0 2 0 0 3 Blackett 4 6 2 2 14 3 0 10 Jesinskis 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 Team 4 Totals 28 58 9 12 200 25 20 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 Robinson 5 6 4 4 26 4 7 14 Sims 2 3 0 0 20 1 2 4 Brown 4 8 6 6 25 6 0 14 Horton 6 13 0 1 31 3 5 13 Harris 4 8 3 3 29 1 3 12 Abram 7 11 2 3 21 5 0 17 Wohl 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 Harrell 0 0 0 0 9 0 0 0 Petway 3 3 2 2 15 4 0 8 Hunter 3 5 0 1 16 4 1 6 Mathis 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 Dill 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 Ba 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 Team 2 Totals 34 58 17 19 200 31 18 88
Halftime -- Michigan 43, Hawaii 37
3-point goals -- Hawaii 8-25 (Kuebler 5-11, Nash 1-1, Carter 1-4, Sensley 1-5, Sottos 0-1, Lee 0-3), Michigan 3-11 (Abram 1-1, Harris 1-4, Horton 1-5, Hunter 0-1). Personal fouls -- Hawaii 16, Michigan 13.
Steals -- Hawaii 4 (Shimonovich, Carter, Lee, Blackett), Michigan 11 (Horton 3, Harris 2, Abram 2, Robinson, Brown, Harrell, Hunter). Blocked shots -- Hawaii 2 (Sensley, Shimonovich), Michigan 3 (Brown, Horton, Petway). Turnovers -- Hawaii 14 (Carter 4, Kuebler 4, Martin 2, Sensley 2, Shimonovich, Blackett), Michigan 14 (Harrell 3, Horton 2, Robinson, Sims, Brown, Harris, Abram, Wohl, Hunter, Mathis, Dill). Officials -- Jones, Kersey, Nichols. A -- 10,306.
UH's final 2003-04 results
# exhibition game
Nov. 17 BYU-Hawaii # W 64-56 Nov. 21 UC Santa Barbara L 51-57 EA Sports Maui Invitational Nov. 24 Santa Clara W 56-43 Nov. 25 Chaminade W 68-54 Nov. 26 Dayton L 72-82 Dec. 7 EA Sports All-Stars# W 69-67 Dec. 15 Oregon State W 70-67 (OT) Adidas Fesitval Dec. 19 Texas Southern W 97-67 Dec. 20 New Orleans W 92-64 40th Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic Dec. 27 Lamar W 94-88 Dec. 29 IUPUI W 82-64 Dec. 30 Fairfield W 50-49 (OT) Jan. 3 Fresno State* L 58-69 Jan. 5 Nevada* W 60-53 Jan. 10 at San Jose State* W 83-76 Jan. 15 at SMU* W 66-65 Jan. 17 at Louisiana Tech* W 67-60 Jan. 22 UTEP* W 85-63 Jan. 24 Boise State* W 64-58 Jan. 28 at Rice* L 73-76 Jan. 31 at Tulsa* W 73-71 (2OT) Feb. 7 San Jose State* W 56-55 Feb. 12 Louisiana Tech* L 61-62 Feb. 14 SMU* W 62-59 Feb. 18 at Boise State* L 57-74 ESPN Bracket Busters Saturday Feb. 21 at Southern Illinois L 62-66 Feb. 23 at UTEP* L 62-71 Feb. 27 Tulsa* W 92-62 Feb. 29 Rice* W 91-77 Mar. 4 at Nevada* L 64-77 Mar. 6 at Fresno State* L 60-69 McCaffrey WAC Tournament, at Fresno, Calif. Mar. 11 Rice L 68-70 National Invitation Tournament Mar. 17 at Utah State W 85-74 Mar. 22 Nebraska W 84-83 Mar. 24 at Michigan L 73-88
* Western Athletic Conference game
