Hawaii's Julian Sensley pulled in a rebound against Southern Illinois' Randal Falker.
Sensley, Brooks
dazzle SSC crowd
It was a mismatch made in heaven.
Julian Sensley, 6-foot-9 and 235 pounds vs. Darren Brooks, 6-3 and 205.
The two best players for Hawaii and Southern Illinois put on such a good show last night that the losing coach even appreciated it.
"I'd pay to see those two," the Salukis' Chris Lowery said. "Up and down, great pace, great offense, great defense."
Brooks scored a game-high 23 points, but Sensley had the last word, with the biggest of his game-high rebounds coming off Brooks' first of two misses right under the basket, two misses that sealed SIU's fate. Hawaii won 66-64, improving to 3-0 and dealing the Salukis their first defeat of the season after four wins.
"The first one was clean, I thought I made it," said Brooks, who scored a game-winning 3-pointer against the Rainbows last year in Carbondale, Ill. "The second was clean. But he's a big forward, guard. ..."
Sensley scored a team-high 17 points, and Brooks said he was surprised to see a more assertive offensive player this time around.
"It seems like he can do more things. I guess he redefined his role," Brooks said.
Sensley scored only four points with five turnovers in last year's ESPN-televised "Bracket Buster" game that SIU won 66-62.
Last night's game was similar in pace and style, except that Sensley was a bigger force, UH took care of the ball a little better (21 turnovers compared to 24 last year), and the Rainbows won this time.
"We were kind of going back and forth," Sensley said. "Last year Phil (Martin) had the athletic guys. I've had to guard smaller guys the first couple games, so that helped me prepare. He's a great player. He's athletic, he can go inside and out, keeps you always thinking. He's definitely a good player. I had my hands full."
Brooks felt the same way.
"I was upset with myself the way he scored. I should've played tougher defense on him. He's a good player, but I always guard the best player," he said. "It was a fun battle. I guess we're kind of rivals now, even though we probably won't play each other again."
UH coach Riley Wallace enjoyed the matchup, too.
"I would say that's the Missouri Valley Player of the Year, and Julian Sensley was the Hawaii player of the game. He's in that class," Wallace said.
Gipson steps up: UH junior forward Matt Gipson's status on the team was up in the air briefly after he missed a practice Saturday for personal reasons, but it didn't seem to detract from his game last night.
He came off the bench to make all three shots from the field, including a 3-pointer. He also grabbed five rebounds.
Pay-per-view hoops?: UH basketball fans who prefer watching the Rainbows live on television to going to the game will be able to continue to do so for free for at least the rest of this season. There are currently no plans to implement pay-per-view, as is done for UH football games.
"No way we would do it this year," athletic director Herman Frazier said. "Maybe in the future."