---

GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM UH forward Julian Sensley stepped up his game Monday, scoring 17 points and pulling down 11 rebounds.

---

Rainbows to learn
life on the road

Hawaii coach Riley Wallace
hopes to expand on his team's
hoops education with a field trip

The education of the Hawaii basketball team continues.

Over their first three games, the Rainbow Warriors have learned how to recover from a slow start, play from behind, and grind out a tough win over a quality opponent.

Their next lesson -- playing on the road.

After sweeping a three-game homestand to open the season, the Rainbows left for their first road trip of the season last night and face Saint Louis (1-3) on Saturday at the Savvis Center.

Tipoff is set for 9:10 a.m. Hawaii time.

"We'll see how they travel and adjust to the things that go with it," UH coach Riley Wallace said. "They play hard at home, but you'll really test your heart on the road when you get over there with a little bit of adversity."

The game will be a homecoming of sorts for several UH players from the Midwest as well as Wallace, who grew up in Jerseyville, Ill., about an hour's drive from St. Louis.

The trip will give the team's newcomers a taste of life on the road before opening the Western Athletic Conference schedule with road games at Fresno State and Nevada later this month.

"The new guys are going to see it's tough with the time change and everything," said senior guard Jake Sottos, originally from Monmouth, Ill. "Getting a lot of rest is going to be the big thing for them."

Hawaii is seeking its first 4-0 start since the 1997-98 season, when the Rainbows -- led by the backcourt duo of Anthony Carter and Alika Smith -- won its first five games.

Hawaii played three games in the span of a week to open this season, capping the stretch with a 66-64 win over Southern Illinois on Monday.

Despite winning their first two games, the Rainbows entered the game with some lingering doubts after getting off to slow starts against Mississippi Valley State and Coastal Carolina.

UH fell behind early again against the Salukis -- ranked 28th in this week's Associated Press poll with 46 points -- before engaging SIU in a duel in which neither team led by more than seven points.

The Rainbows made just three shots from the field in the final nine minutes, but went 8-for-12 from the free-throw line to pull out the win. Senior forward Vaidotas Peciukas provided Hawaii's final four points, and scored on a layup with 44 seconds left to put UH on top to stay.

"It's big any time you play a team like that," UH forward Jeff Blackett said. "Coach was saying if they got this win they'd probably be a top 25 team. ... It's good to play a real good team like that early in the season to see where you're at and I think we proved a lot."

Forward Julian Sensley has been UH's most consistent player so far and turned in his biggest performance of the young season with 17 points and 11 rebounds on Monday. The junior has spent just four minutes on the bench in UH's first three games, and played the full 40 in the last two.

"I can't keep playing him 40 minutes," Wallace said. "But this game was so big to us in the growing process that I stuck with him. He's kind of anchor they all build around."

Getting WAC'd: Hawaii's win on Monday was the bright spot on an otherwise dismal day for the Western Athletic Conference.

Defending WAC tournament champion Nevada lost at No. 2 Kansas 85-52 and Southern Methodist was routed by No. 7 Oklahoma State 76-57. Louisiana Tech lost at Alabama-Birmingham 66-54. UAB will play in the Rainbow Classic later this month.

Hawaii and Fresno State (2-0) are the only WAC teams that have yet to lose this season.