FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM Matt Gibson and Matthew Gipson celebrated a Rainbow Classic title and a perfect start to the season Thursday after beating USC.

’Bows take show
on the road

Eight games into the season, this year's Hawaii basketball team has already proven to be unlike any that came before.

After capturing their fourth consecutive Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic championship on Thursday, the Rainbow Warriors take an unblemished record into Western Athletic Conference play for the first time since joining the league a quarter-century ago.

Their games haven't always been works of art, but the Rainbows willed their way to a perfect nonconference record, winning just once by a double-digit margin so far this season.

"We believe when we step on the court we're supposed to win that game," UH forward Matthew Gipson said. "We have a ways to go; we're not near as good as we can be, but we just come to work every day."

The Rainbows, the only undefeated team in the WAC, depart for a conference road trip on Monday and open the WAC season Wednesday at Fresno State. They'll ring in the new year at Nevada a week from today in a game televised on ESPN2.

UH enters conference play riding the momentum of a Rainbow Classic in which the 'Bows:

» Overcame their worst shooting performance of the season to hold off Long Beach State 54-45.

» Saw Bobby Nash deliver a pre-Christmas miracle by hitting a 25-foot desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer in a 55-54 win over Oral Roberts in the semifinals.

» And thwarted a USC rally to grind out a 72-68 win over the Trojans in the championship game.

Although the Rainbows are undefeated and have a win at Saint Louis under their belts, they'll be tested again in their first WAC excursion of the season.

"We still have to get better to win on the road," UH coach Riley Wallace said. "We have a tough league, places are tough to play at and travel is tough. We're going to have to execute on offense better and just keep battling the way we're battling now to keep ourselves in ballgames and give ourselves chances to win."

Hawaii sputtered at times on offense during the tournament, but won the rebounding battle in all three games, played stubborn defense and got contributions from nearly the entire roster.

UH leaned on the talents of junior forward Julian Sensley in its first five games. Though Sensley's mere presence on the floor forced opponents to account for him and opened up his teammates, the Rainbows proved they could win without having Sensley put up big numbers.

Sensley had a streak of 10 games scoring in double figures snapped in UH's opening-round win over Long Beach State and averaged 7.3 points during the Classic.

Over the course of the tournament, 10 of the 11 scholarship players on the UH roster got into the scoring column and Gipson and guard Matt Gibson led a strong effort by the Rainbows' reserves.

Gipson, a 6-9 forward, had 32 points and 21 rebounds coming off the bench in UH's semifinal and championship games, while Gibson, the 6-5 guard, was named tournament MVP after averaging 13.7 points per game and making 14 of 16 shots from the line.

"In past years we've always had pressure on one guy who has to score -- (Michael) Kuebler, (Carl) English, (Predrag) Savovic," Wallace said. "That's what makes this team unique -- every night somebody else steps up. You have different guys who are doing it in different ways."

Free-throw shooting proved to be the key in the win over USC as UH made 21 of 30 attempts, while the Trojans converted only 15 of 29.

USC's tournament run was just another chapter in an already tumultuous time for the Trojans. After coach Henry Bibby was fired earlier this month, the school announced the hiring of Rick Majerus, only to have the former Utah coach resign a few days later.

Then word that Tim Floyd would take over next season started circulating just as the Trojans prepared for the Classic championship game.

Even getting to Hawaii was a challenge, as the Trojans' flight to Honolulu on Sunday was delayed 7 hours due to mechanical problems.

Through it all, USC interim coach Jim Saia nearly guided the Trojans to the classic championship.

"We're a team and we're losing and winning together," Saia said. "There's been a lot of controversy a lot of drama for this basketball team and we've responded pretty well to it."