Gibson feels at home
against Oral Roberts

Oral Roberts may not be the biggest name in this year's Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic, but Hawaii guard Matt Gibson doesn't need to be convinced that the Golden Eagles are a dangerous team.

The UH sophomore grew up in Oklahoma City and was a standout at Putnam City High, where he faced several players who are now key contributors for ORU.

"All those guys were top prospects when I was back there in high school," Gibson said. "They were all in the all-star games on the best teams and they've been around for a while. So these guys know what they're doing. I've played against them and they're really good."

The Rainbow Warriors meet ORU in a Rainbow Classic semifinal game at 7:30 tonight at the Stan Sheriff Center.

The list of the nation's undefeated teams will shrink by one as Oral Roberts (8-0) and Hawaii (6-0) enter the game with unblemished records.

Hawaii advanced to the semifinals for the eighth straight year by pulling out a 54-45 win over Long Beach State on Monday. ORU scored an 81-63 victory over Big East member Georgetown in the tournament's opening game and poses a serious threat to UH's three-year reign as Classic champion.

"I thought the win (over Georgetown) was so important," ORU coach Scott Sutton said. "It was a confident group coming over here, but that win gave this team just tons of confidence and they really believe that they can play with just about anybody anywhere."

The Eagles of the Mid-Continent Conference are led by forward Caleb Green, who posted 26 points and 10 rebounds against Georgetown, and guards Luke Spencer-Gardner, Ken Tutt and Jonathan Bluitt.

Green and Spencer-Gardner combined to hit 16 of 22 field-goal attempts against Georgetown, while centers Matt Gastel and Mickey Michalec grabbed 11 rebounds between them.

"It's a program that's come up a lot in the last couple of years," Gibson said. "They used to be way down in the standings and now they've brought some good players in, did some good recruiting, so they've come a long ways in the last three years."

Along with Gibson, UH forward Matthew Gipson also played in Oklahoma, spending his first two years of college with the Sooners of the Big 12.

Sutton saw Gibson play in high school, but after the Eagles signed Tutt -- who made 101 3-pointers last season -- the ORU coaches decided to concentrate on other positions rather than pursue another guard.

Gibson spent a year at Three Rivers (Mo.) Community College before signing with Hawaii, where he's now second on the team in scoring with 12.5 points per game.

"Matt played on some great teams and had a great high-school career," Sutton said. "He went to junior college and really blossomed. I think he made a great decision to come out here. This is a great place for him and I'm sure he'll be excited about playing a team from Oklahoma.

"It wasn't a case that we didn't think he was good enough. He's definitely good enough."