FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM Hawaii forward Julian Sensley collided with San Jose State's Donta Watson during the second half of last night's game.

’Bows enjoy
rare blowout

After seeing every game go down
to the wire, Hawaii ends last night’s
contest early

This time it wasn't close.

A Hawaii basketball team that had endured its share of nailbiters this season enjoyed a stress-free second half as the Rainbow Warriors cruised to a 71-45 win over San Jose State in last night's Western Athletic Conference game at the Stan Sheriff Center.

A Spartans team that had given UH fits in its last two visits to Honolulu put up little resistance as the Rainbows (9-2, 1-2 WAC) opened up a commanding 32-13 lead at halftime and tied its season-low for points allowed.

"I thought we came out to play as well as we have all year long, because we really got into their stuff defensively in the first half," UH coach Riley Wallace said.

After last week's road losses to Fresno State and Nevada, coming by a total of four points, Wallace tore into his club during practice last week and the Rainbows responded with a dominant performance.

"We were 0-2. I told them we were losers and I was going to treat them like losers until we win, and we had a good hard week of practice," Wallace said.

The last two meetings between the schools in Honolulu resulted in one-point thrillers, with SJSU winning in 2004 and UH prevailing last season. But Hawaii opened the game with a 14-2 run that led to its largest margin of victory in the 22-game series.

"That quick start was definitely a key," UH forward Matthew Gipson said. "Get up on them early, so that way they couldn't control the tempo."

San Jose State (3-9, 0-3), which entered the game last in the WAC in scoring and field-goal percentage, made just four of its first 25 attempts from the field and lost its seventh straight game to end a four-game road stretch.

UH's big men controlled the boards, outrebounding the Spartans 44-25 and posted 15 second-chance points to none for SJSU.

"We said from the start if we don't rebound we have no chance," SJSU coach Phil Johnson said. "If we don't get rebounds off the defensive glass forget it. We talked about it as the No. 1 key.

"They overmatched us in just about every area. It was dominance inside."

UH forward Julian Sensley contributed to a balanced UH attack by posting double figures in scoring (10 points) and rebounds (11) for the third time this season and the 10th time in his career.

Guard Matt Gibson shook off a slow start to finish with 12 points and had double figures in points for the seventh straight game. Center Chris Botez finished with 10 points and seven rebounds.

UH guard Vaidotas Peciukas scored 12 of his team-high 13 points in the second half, nine coming from the free-throw line.

"The main thing was we were just working as a team tonight," Sensley said. "There were no individuals out there trying to take over the game. We were able to get a lot of assists between everybody. When we're moving the ball around like that it's hard to stop."

While UH shot 46.4 percent from the field, San Jose State's deliberately paced offense matched the lowest first-half point total in the history of the Sheriff Center. SJSU finished at 25 percent from the field.

After SJSU's Marquin Chandler scored on a driving layup 30 seconds into the game, UH reeled off the next 14 points.

Gipson hit a 3-pointer for UH's first field goal and the Rainbows scored on four straight dunks.

"They were never really in it after that," Gipson said.

SJSU didn't break into double figures until Alex Elam made a free throw with 5:58 left in the first half to make the score 25-10. Chandler and Elam were the only Spartans to score before halftime.

Chandler led SJSU with a game-high 15 points and guard Donta Watson had 12.

The wide margin allowed UH walk-on Kenny Kelly to make his first appearance of the season, entering the game with 2:05 left in the game. He attempted two shots, missing both.

Military members honored: Five members of the armed services were honored at halftime as part of "Military Night" festivities.

Master Sgt. Nathan Stephens (Air Force), Maj. Rupert J. Corpuz (Army), Petty Officer 1st Class Allison Hope (Coast Guard), Cpl. Brian S. Hopkins (Marines), and HM1 Robert Bentley (Navy) were selected by their respective branches for their military performance and volunteer efforts in their communities.

Deals for students: UH's game against Southern Methodist on Thursday has been designated as "Welcome Back Students Night."

UH students receive a free ticket by presenting their valid UH ID card at Gate A starting 1 hour before the game. Tickets are limited and will be issued on a first-come, first-served basis. Tipoff is set for 7:05 p.m.

UH is also offering students a "Manoa Maniacs WAC Pack" for the remaining eight conference home games. The package is $30 and includes reserved seat tickets and a free Manoa Maniacs rugby shirt.

Packages are available starting tomorrow at the Sheriff Center ticket office.

Hawaii 71, San Jose State 45

Spartans (3-9, 0-3 wac)
	fg	fga	ft	fta	min	reb	a	tp
Watson	2	6	7	7	34	1	1	12
Elam	2	10	3	4	35	2	2	9
Bloom	0	2	2	2	23	2	1	2
Chandler	6	16	2	3	37	8	1	15
Misko	1	3	3	4	28	5	0	5
Gardner	0	1	1	2	5	0	0	1
White	0	2	1	2	10	1	0	1
McFadden	0	2	0	0	16	1	1	0
Fresby	0	2	0	0	12	1	0	0
Team						4
Totals	11	44	19	24	200	25	6	45
Rainbow Warriors (9-2, 1-2 wac)
	fg	fga	ft	fta	min	reb	a	tp
Gibson	4	10	3	3	26	0	4	12
Gipson	3	6	0	0	23	6	1	7
Tatum	1	3	2	6	27	2	2	4
Sensley	4	11	2	2	33	11	3	10
Botez	5	7	0	2	26	7	2	10
Sottos	1	2	0	0	10	1	0	3
Kelly	0	2	0	0	2	0	0	0
Groce	0	0	0	0	4	0	1	0
Zivanovic	1	3	0	0	6	3	0	2
Peciukas	2	2	9	13	10	1	1	13
Nash	1	3	0	0	17	3	1	2
Blackett	4	7	0	1	16	2	1	8
Team						8
Totals	26	56	16	27	200	44	16	71

Key--fg: field goals; fga: field goals attempted; ft: free throws; fta: free throws attempted; min: minutes; reb: rebounds; a: assists; tp: total points.
Halftime--Hawaii 32, San Jose State 13
3-point goals--San Jose State 4-16 (Elam 2-3, Watson 1-3, Chandler 1-5, Bloom 0-2, Gardner 0-1, McFadden 0-1, White 0-1); Hawaii 3-14 (Gipson 1-1, Sottos 1-2, Gibson 1-5, Nash 0-2, Tatum 0-2, Kelly 0-1, Sensley 0-1). Personal fouls--San Jose State 22, Hawaii 18. Fouled out--Misko.
Steals--San Jose State 2 (Elam, Misko); Hawaii 6 (Tatum 2, Gibson, Gipson, Nash, Sensley). Blocked shots--San Jose State 1 (Chandler); Hawaii 0. Turnovers--San Jose State 17 (Chandler 5, Elam 4, Misko 3, Bloom 2, McFadden, Watson, White); Hawaii 13 (Botez 4, Blackett 2, Gipson 2, Nash 2, Gibson, Peciukas, Tatum). Officials--Bob Sitov, Bobby Jacobs, Bobby Vetkoetter. A--7,945.