FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM Jeff Blackett was 7-for-13 from the field and scored 20 points during Thursday's 75-72 overtime victory over Rice.

Rainbows have no time
to rest on win over Rice

Conference play doesn't afford teams much time to savor victory.

Tulsa at Hawaii When: Today, 7:05 pm. Where: Stan Sheriff Center TV: Live, KFVE (Ch. 5) Radio: Live, KKEA 1420-AM Internet: HawaiiAthletics.com Tickets: $20 (lower level, single seats only); $15 (upper level, adults); $5 (upper level, students); $3 (upper level, UH students); $5 (Super Rooter/Manoa Maniacs) Parking: $3 Promotion: "White Out" night. The UH athletic department is encouraging fans to wear white shirts to the game.

Less than 24 hours after pulling out a dramatic overtime victory over Rice on Thursday, the Hawaii basketball team was back at work yesterday with its attention fixed on tonight's Western Athletic Conference game with Tulsa.

"When you have a one-day turnaround you have to stay focused on the task at hand," said UH guard Bobby Nash, who provided the decisive score in UH's 75-72 win with an improbable four-point play with 15.5 seconds left against Rice.

"We just have to forget about yesterday's game. We came out and had a good practice -- everybody's working hard, everybody's on the same page."

The Rainbows (11-5, 3-5 WAC) and Golden Hurricane (4-13, 1-7) meet in their annual "White Out" game at the Stan Sheriff Center at 7:05 p.m.

Practice might not have been a fun place to be yesterday had UH not managed to end a three-game losing streak with Thursday's comeback from an 11-point second-half deficit. But there's nothing like a win to raise spirits around the gym.

"It was a huge win," guard Jake Sottos said. "We just needed to get back on track and get things rolling again."

UH and Tulsa developed one of the hottest rivalries in the Western Athletic Conference with several high-stakes battles from 2001 to 2003. But it's waned a bit lately as Tulsa has fallen on hard times the past two seasons.

After winning the WAC crown in 2003, Tulsa went 9-20 last season and enter tonight's game last in the WAC standings.

After a 2-5 start, John Phillips resigned as head coach on Christmas Day and assistant Alvin "Pooh" Williamson was appointed interim coach.

The Hurricane are 2-8 under Williamson and picked up their first WAC win a week ago -- 68-65 over Fresno State. Tulsa arrived here last night after losing at San Jose State 76-69 on Thursday.

Despite Tulsa's struggles and the disruption of a midseason coaching change, the Rainbows are wary of facing a Hurricane team with nothing to lose.

"They're a better team than they were earlier, no question," UH coach Riley Wallace said. "They're playing hard, they seem to be happy and they do the things that cause us problems. They transition well, they get quick offense, they take you off the dribble and have quick shooters down on the post."

After battling with Rice forward Michael Harris on Thursday, the Rainbows' big men will again be tested, by Tulsa forwards Jarius Glenn and Anthony Price.

Glenn, a 6-foot-6 senior, leads Tulsa in scoring (16.5 points per game), rebounding (7.3), assists (3.5) and steals (1.1). UH forward Julian Sensley will draw the defensive assignment on Glenn after guarding Rice's Jason McKrieth for much of Thursday's game.

"He's a lot like McKrieth," Sensley said. "He can shoot, he can slash. As a team, defensively we have to be ready because they have so many weapons.

"Every team in this conference is so well-balanced and every team has some kind of go-to guy and they all have more than one."

Price, a 6-8 junior, averages 15.1 points and 4.8 rebounds in the post.

"We've had trouble covering strong post-up players, and Price is certainly a very good post player," said UH associate coach Bob Nash, who prepares the team's scouting reports. "He gets down on that block and he has a strong left hand and he's a good athlete. ... They have some good athletes. The cupboard's not bare there."

Tulsa starts two freshmen in the back court in Brett McDade and Deion James. McDade is averaging 15.6 points over the last three games.

Chai honored: The UH Letterwinners Club and athletic department will present Dr. Dennis Chai the Kane Fernandez Community Service Award during tonight's game.

The award established in 2002 recognizes a past UH letterwinner for volunteer efforts in the community.

Marathon effort: Dr. Jim Barahal, president of the Honolulu Marathon Association, will present a $10,000 donation to the UH Foundation during a break in the game. It's the second straight year the marathon is making such a donation to UH.