[ RAINBOW BASKETBALL ]
FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
Senior Haim Shimonovich averaged 7.0 points per game and shot .500 from the field for the 'Bows this season.
The 2003-04 Rainbow
Warriors’ game-by-game
results
Nov. 17: Hawaii 63, Brigham Young-Hawaii 56 (exhibition) -- The Rainbows trailed for the first 32 minutes of the game but rallied past the Division II Seasiders behind Michael Kuebler's 18 points. UH survived the hot shooting of BYUH's Jake Chrisman (23 points) and Michael Stowell (18 points).
Nov. 21: UC Santa Barbara 57, Hawaii 51 -- UH (0-1) lost just its third game in its last 34 at the Sheriff Center in its regular-season opener. Casey Cook scored 16 points for the Gauchos, who were without two starting guards due to injury and suspension. Phil Martin led UH with 12 points.
EA Sports Maui Invitational
Nov. 24: Hawaii 56, Santa Clara 43 -- The Rainbows (1-1) made a successful debut in the 20th annual tournament by rallying from a 12-0 deficit behind Kuebler's 15 points. Haim Shimonovich added nine points and 11 rebounds off the bench.Nov. 25: Hawaii 68, Chaminade 54 -- UH (2-1) rode a 24-2 second-half run to win the first meeting between the neighboring schools since 1982. Kuebler matched his career high with 29 points. Shimonovich recorded his eighth career double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Chaminade had advanced to the semifinals by stunning Villanova the previous day.
Nov. 26: Dayton 82, Hawaii 72 -- Flyers guard Ramod Marshall scored 18 of his game-high 27 points in the second half as Dayton rallied from an eight-point halftime deficit to claim the tourney title. Kuebler's 23 points weren't enough for the Rainbows (2-2) to become the first local team to win the tournament title.
Dec. 7: Hawaii 69, EA Sports All-Stars 67 (exhibition) -- After a 10-day layoff, the Rainbows held off the All-Stars, who were led by former UH guards Mark Campbell and Mike McIntyre. Haim Shimonovich made four of five shots from the field and finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Dec. 15: Hawaii 70, Oregon State 67 (OT) -- Kuebler, a native of Salem, Ore., drained a 3-pointer with one second left in overtime to lift the 'Bows (3-2) to the win. Kuebler finished with a game-high 24 points, while Martin broke out of a slump with 21 points.
Adidas Festival
Dec. 19: Hawaii 97, Texas Southern 67 -- All 12 UH players who suited up for the game scored at least two points as the Rainbows (4-2) routed the Tigers. Martin led the way with 18 points and 10 rebounds. TSU's Damien Smith was 6-for-6 beyond the 3-point line and scored 27 points.Dec. 20: Hawaii 92, New Orleans 64 -- Kuebler scored 29 points for the second time this season as UH (5-2) pulled away from the Privateers. Shimonovich and Julian Sensley both had double-doubles while Martin scored 18 points. Logan Lee had 15 assists and no turnovers in the two-day tournament.
40th Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic
Dec. 27: Hawaii 94, Lamar 88 -- UH trailed by 12 early in the second half, but rallied to advance to the Classic semifinals for the eighth straight year. The Rainbows (6-2) went on a 23-2 run to seize control of the game. Kuebler led UH with 28 points.Dec. 29: Hawaii 82, IUPUI 64 -- The Rainbows (7-2) advanced to the final as Kuebler hit seven 3-pointers and scored 26 points. Martin added 18 points. UH matched a season high with 25 assists.
Dec. 30: Hawaii 50, Fairfield 49 (OT) -- Sensley hit a 3-pointer from the left wing with 9.2 seconds left in overtime to give UH its third consecutive Rainbow Classic title. The 'Bows (8-2) won despite trailing 21-13 at halftime. Sensley finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds and Kuebler had 22 points. Fairfield's Deng Gai wowed the crowd with 17 points, 18 rebounds and six blocked shots.
Jan. 3: Fresno State 69, Hawaii 58 -- Despite missing two suspended starters, the Bulldogs spoiled UH's WAC opener by outrebounding UH 38-16 and holding the Rainbows to 28 percent shooting from the field in the second half. Marcus West hit four 3-pointers and scored 21 points to lead FSU. Martin's 18 led UH (8-3).
Jan. 5: Hawaii 60, Nevada 53 -- The Rainbows (9-3) knocked off the eventual WAC champions behind Kuebler's 23 points. Sensley recorded his fourth double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Kirk Snyder led the Wolf Pack with 21 points, but had little help.
Jan. 10: Hawaii 83, San Jose State 76 -- At San Jose, Calif., Jeff Blackett came off the bench to score 19 points in UH's first game outside the state. The Rainbows (10-3) saw a 10-point halftime lead shrink to three in the final minute, but a three-point play by Blackett helped UH hold off the SJSU rally.
Jan. 15: Hawaii 66, SMU 65 -- At Dallas, UH nearly squandered a 14-point second-half lead, but held on to edge the Mustangs. SMU ended the game on a 15-2 run and got to within one with 16.6 seconds left, but the Rainbows (11-3) were able to dribble out the clock. Kuebler led the way with 18 points, while Blackett had his first career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Jan. 17: Hawaii 67, Louisiana Tech 60 -- At Ruston, La., Sensley poured in 19 points on 9-for-11 shooting as Hawaii (12-3) completed a sweep of its three-game road trip. It marked the first time UH won three regular-season conference road games on the same trip since joining the WAC in 1979.
Jan. 22: Hawaii 85, UTEP 63 -- The Rainbows (13-3) enjoyed one of their best shooting nights of the season to race past the Miners. Kuebler hit eight of 12 shots from the field en route to a 21-point performance. Blackett scored 14 points as UH reserves contributed 40 off the bench.
Jan. 24: Hawaii 64, Boise State 58 -- UH (14-3) survived a defensive battle to tie a school record with its sixth straight WAC win. Shimonovich sparked the Rainbows with 12 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots. Boise State, which suspended four players before the game, got to within a point at 57-56 with more than four minutes left, but UH hit seven free throws in the final 17 seconds to seal the win.
Jan. 28: Rice 76, Hawaii 73 -- At Houston, despite shooting 63 percent from the field, the Rainbows (14-4) saw their winning streak end against the Owls. UH trimmed a 13-point deficit to two with eight minutes left, but could get no closer. Kuebler scored 24 points and Sensley had 20 points and 11 rebounds. Rice's Jason McKrieth (19 points) and Michael Harris (18) accounted for nearly half of the Owls' points.
Jan. 31: Hawaii 73, Tulsa 71 (2OT) -- At Tulsa, Okla., Logan Lee drained a clutch 3-pointer with the shot clock running down and hit two free throws in the final minute of the second overtime as the Rainbows (15-4) won a classic chapter in their rivalry with the Golden Hurricane. Sensley had 20 points and 13 rebounds and played all 50 minutes.
Feb. 7: Hawaii 56, San Jose State 55 -- The Rainbows (16-4) maintained their lead in the WAC by holding off a scrappy SJSU team. Lee's two free throws with 5.7 seconds left proved to be the difference.
Feb. 12: Louisiana Tech 62, Hawaii 61 -- A steal by Donnel Allick led to the game-winning shot by Corey Dean with 49 seconds left as the Bulldogs handed UH (16-5) its third home loss of the season. UH had the ball for the final 47 seconds of the game, but struggled to get a shot off and Sensley's 3-pointer at the buzzer was off the mark. UH was 4-for-21 beyond the 3-point line.
Feb. 14: Hawaii 62, SMU 59 -- The Rainbows (17-5) recovered from a slow start to edge the Mustangs. Kuebler hit five of his six 3-pointers in the second half, including the game-winner with 48.7 seconds left. Shimonovich blocked two shots in the final seconds to preserve the win despite injuring his knee late in the game.
Feb. 18: Boise State 74, Hawaii 57 -- At Boise, Idaho, The Broncos handed UH its most lopsided loss of the season led by forward Aaron Haynes (27 points) and guard Bryan Defares (17 points). The duo combined to make 18 of 27 shots from the field. BSU took advantage of Shimonovich's absence to score 40 points in the paint. Vaidotas Peciukas came off the bench to lead Hawaii (17-6) with 14 points.
Feb. 21: Southern Illinois 66, Hawaii 62 -- At Carbondale, Ill., The Rainbows (17-7) had the sellout crowd at SIU Arena on edge by building an early lead. But the 20th-ranked Salukis came back and put the game away on Darren Brooks' 3-pointer with 29.1 seconds left. Phil Martin scored 20 points for UH, but it wasn't enough to overcome the team's 24 turnovers. SIU set a UH opponent record with 21 steals.
Feb. 23: UTEP 71, Hawaii 62 -- At El Paso, Texas, Hawaii (17-8) whittled a 21-point first-half deficit to seven late in the game, but couldn't get over the hump as the Miners sent UH to its third straight loss. Kuebler scored 22 points in the second half to spark the Rainbows comeback.
Feb. 27: Hawaii 92, Tulsa 62 -- The Rainbows (18-8) got scoring from all 13 players in a rout of the Golden Hurricane. Kuebler led UH with 21 points while Sensley had 14 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Martin kept his string of 96 consecutive starts alive despite spraining his ankle in practice the day before the game.
Feb. 29: Hawaii 91, Rice 77 -- UH (19-8) sent five seniors out in style by shooting 55 percent from the field to pull away from the Owls. Sensley hit eight of 10 shots from the field and led five UH players in double figures with 21 points. Paul Jesinskis scored a career-high 12 points off the bench.
March 4: Nevada 77, Hawaii 64 -- At Reno, Nev., The Rainbows couldn't recover from a slow start and were eliminated from the WAC title chase with a loss to the Wolf Pack. UH (19-9) shot 61 percent from the field in the second half, but it wasn't enough to overcome a 31-16 halftime deficit. WAC player of the year Kirk Snyder sparked Nevada with 23 points and seven rebounds.
March 6: Fresno State 69, Hawaii 60 -- At Fresno, Calif., Sensley's best night of the season wasn't enough to counter the combined efforts of Fresno State guard Shantay Legans and center Mustafa Al-Sayyad. Sensley hit nine of 10 shots and finished with 24 points for UH (19-10). Legans scored a game-high 25 points, while Al-Sayyad had 24 points and 11 rebounds.
McCaffrey WAC Tournament
March 11: Rice 70, Hawaii 68 -- UH (19-11) exited the WAC tournament in heartbreaking fashion after Martin's put-back of a missed free throw rimmed out with one second left. Trailing by three with 3.4 seconds left, Lee made one free throw and intentionally missed the second. The rebound bounced to Martin and his shot danced on the rim before falling out at the buzzer.National Invitation Tournament
March 17: Hawaii 85, Utah State 74 -- At Logan, Utah, Kuebler scored 28 points and dished out six assists as the Rainbows (20-11) defeated a nationally ranked team on its home court for the first time in the program's history. The No. 25 Aggies had made national headlines by being excluded from the NCAA Tournament despite a 25-3 record.March 22: Hawaii 84, Nebraska 83 -- The Rainbows (21-11) squandered a 17-point halftime lead but held off the Cornhuskers to advance to the NIT quarterfinals for the fifth time. Jason Carter hit six of seven 3-pointers and scored a career-high 21 points while Blackett scored 17 points. Brian Conklin (24 points) led the Nebraska comeback by hitting five 3-pointers in the second half.
March 24: Michigan 88, Hawaii 73 -- At Ann Arbor, Mich., the Wolverines denied the Rainbows a trip to New York by pulling away from a road-weary UH team in the second half. Lester Abram returned from a shoulder injury to score 17 points for Michigan. Kuebler caught fire in the second half to hit five 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 19 points. Hawaii ended its season at 21-12.
