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RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN,com Left: Matt Gibson (right, guarding St. Mary's Brett Collins) led Hawaii in scoring and steals.

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All air gone from
UH’s balloon

It's been a while since the Hawaii basketball team left the Western Athletic Conference tournament thinking more about next season than its next game.

But when the Rainbow Warriors returned to the Manoa campus Friday afternoon, it marked the end of the line for a team that had been invited to a postseason tournament each of the previous four years.

Expectations for another appearance expanded with a perfect pre-Christmas run. But those hopes gradually deflated over a series of close losses in WAC play and any remaining air was finally squeezed out with an 80-62 loss to Texas-El Paso in the WAC tournament quarterfinals on Thursday.

"We started well and had some good games in the WAC, but not enough of them," UH coach Riley Wallace said. "We win those three or four of those close ones and you're right there in the hunt. They gave everything they had to try to win games, but we were just a little bit short."

Barring a highly surprising call from the National Invitation Tournament today, the Rainbows' season will go into the books at 16-13 for the program's sixth consecutive winning season.

But it didn't take long after their tournament loss for the team's attention to turn to next season.

"As soon as the buzzer rang," sophomore guard Matt Gibson said.

Wallace had an angioplasty performed to clear a blocked artery in December and the Rainbows certainly didn't make it easy on the 18th-year coach's ticker.

Thirteen games were decided by five points or fewer, with eight decided in the final 30 seconds. Sophomore guard Bobby Nash twice hit improbable 3-pointers to lift the Rainbows to thrilling wins. But fortune tilted in their opponent's favor more often in WAC play, sending UH to a 7-11 conference mark and a seventh-place finish.

"Some years you win them all, some years you lose them all. It kind of goes in cycles," Wallace said. "But you're that close to having a great season."

The Rainbows opened practice in October with five new scholarship players and just one returning starter. Melding the skills of the newcomers and returnees into the UH system proved to be a season-long process.

Stirring nonconference wins over Southern Illinois and St. Mary's and a fourth straight Rainbow Classic title put UH at 8-0 and edging toward a national ranking entering WAC play. But inexperience and a lack of execution late in games hampered the Rainbows throughout the conference schedule.

"There were some ingredients missing on this team," Wallace said. "We needed another kid who's a good athlete, a real strong athletic type, and a point guard. We still need that now, so we have to go out and find them."

Unlike previous years in which the starting lineup was relatively stable, Wallace regularly shuffled the combinations this year, partly due to performance and partly to motivate.

UH used eight different starting lineups and no Hawaii player started all 29 games. Seven Rainbows started at least 13 games.

The Rainbows also lacked an offensive focal point. Where Predrag Savovic, Carl English and Michael Kuebler filled the role of primary scorer the previous four years, this year's team didn't have a consistent point producer.

Gibson's 13 points per game was the lowest scoring average to lead the team since Eric Bowman paced the 1978-79 Rainbows with 12.5 ppg.

Junior forward Julian Sensley led UH in scoring for much of the season and finished with a team-high 6.9 rebounds per game to go along with 12 ppg. He also dished out a team-best 89 assists.

Senior guard Jake Sottos suddenly emerged as one of the WAC's top 3-point shooters midway through the season. Though he cooled off late in the campaign, he led UH with 66 3-point goals and increased his output to 10.7 points per game after averaging 2.5 as a junior.

Senior forward Jeff Blackett fought through nagging injuries to rate among the team's most consistent performers and center Chris Botez blocked a team-high 41 shots in his first season at UH.

Wallace's three-year contract expires this year and an extension is in the works. Pending final approval of the deal, the Rainbows' first win next season would give Wallace 300 with the Rainbows.

With Sottos, Blackett and forward Vaidotas Peciukas completing their UH careers, the coaches are already restocking the roster.

UH signed guard Matt Lojeski (Eastern Wyoming College) and forward Ahmet Gueye (Salt Lake Community College) in the fall and have three more scholarships to fill this spring. The newcomers will join seven scholarship players -- six who started games this season -- who are expected to return next fall.

"The kids worked hard and there was a lot of improvement," he said. "It was their first time making all these trips and going through the conference and seeing how tough it is. ... They didn't have a feel for it yet. Now they know how hard it is, so this might help a little bit."

Wrapping it up: The 2005 Rainbow Basketball Awards banquet will be held April 14 at the Hawaii Prince Hotel. Tickets are $40 per person and $400 per table. No-host cocktails start at 6 p.m. with dinner at 7. The awards program follows. For more information, call the UH basketball office at 956-6501.

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The 2004-05 Season:
Game-by-Game

Nov. 14: Hawaii 75, UH-Hilo 49 » The Rainbow Warriors used an 18-4 run to start the second half to blow past the Vulcans in an exhibition game. The 'Bows' height wore down UH-Hilo as they outrebounded the Vulcans 46-26. Forward Jeff Blackett led the way with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Center Chris Botez added 12 points and nine boards in his UH debut.

Nov. 23: Hawaii 71, Mississippi Valley State 58 » Guard Matt Gibson came off the bench to score 22 points and Botez posted 15 points and 16 rebounds as the Rainbows opened the regular season with a win over the Delta Devils. UH made just six of its first 30 attempts from the field, but shot 50 percent in the second half to pull away.

Nov. 26: Hawaii 72, Coastal Carolina 65 » The Rainbows rallied from a 22-point second-half deficit to give coach Riley Wallace his 300th career victory. Blackett hit eight of nine shots from the field in the second half to spark the comeback and finished with 22 points. Guard Bobby Nash contributed four 3-pointers in the second half and UH outscored Coastal 40-11 in the final 14 minutes.

Nov. 29: Hawaii 66, Southern Illinois 64 » Senior Vaidotas Peciukas scored the go-ahead layup with 44 seconds left and made two free throws down the stretch as the Rainbows pulled out a dramatic victory over the Salukis on "Black Out" night. Forward Julian Sensley finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds to help UH overcome a 23-point performance by SIU guard Darren Brooks.

Dec. 4: Hawaii 53, Saint Louis 52 » At St. Louis, Sensley's jumper with 15 seconds left lifted the Rainbows to a nonconference road win over the Billikens. Saint Louis had a shot to win the game in the final seconds, but Izik Ohanon's jumper was off the mark. Sensley led the way with 15 points and 11 rebounds.

Dec. 11: Hawaii 84, Saint Mary's (Calif.) 77 » UH shot 62.5 percent from the field and dished out 21 assists to improve to 5-0 for the first time since 1997. Sensley led four UH players in double-figures with 23 points on 10-for-15 shooting. Blackett finished with 18 points, while Gibson was 4-for-4 from the field and had 13 points.

Dec. 20: Hawaii 54, Long Beach State 45 » Less than a week after Wallace had an angioplasty to clear a clogged artery, the Rainbows didn't make things easy for their coach as they struggled through their worst shooting night of the season (28 percent) in their Rainbow Classic opener. But the 'Bows survived their first-round game behind Gibson's 15-point effort. Blackett finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds, eight on the offensive end.

Dec. 21: Hawaii 55, Oral Roberts 54 » Nash's 25-foot desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer sent the Rainbows to the Classic title game for the sixth straight year. Hawaii was held without a field goal for more than 5 minutes down the stretch until Nash hit the game-winner. Matthew Gipson came off the bench to post 19 points and 12 rebounds.

Dec. 22: Hawaii 72, USC 68 » After UH went up by 11 early in the second half, USC got back to within a point on five occasions. But the Rainbows were able to fend off the Trojans and earned their fourth consecutive Rainbow Classic championship. Gibson led UH with 16 points and was named the tournament's MVP.

Dec. 29: Fresno State 79, Hawaii 78 » At Fresno, Calif., Hawaii's undefeated season ended with a heartbreaking loss in its Western Athletic Conference opener. UH led by 11, only to see Fresno State rally and take the lead for good on Chris Berry's two free throws with 27.1 seconds left. Sensley led all scorers with 23 points on 9-for-15 shooting. Blackett nearly posted UH's first triple-double with 18 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.

Jan. 1: Nevada 58, Hawaii 55 » At Reno, Nev., the Rainbows fell to 0-2 in the WAC despite holding the Wolf Pack without a field goal in the game's final 6:24. Nevada made 11 of 12 free throws in that stretch, the final six by freshman Ramon Sessions. Nevada forward Nick Fazekas posted 23 points and 17 rebounds. Gibson led UH with 19 points, while Sensley added 12.

Jan. 8: Hawaii 71, San Jose State 45 » UH went on a 14-0 run in the game's opening moments and rolled to an easy win over the usually pesky Spartans. The Rainbows took a 32-13 lead into halftime as SJSU made just four field goals in the first half. Peciukas led Hawaii with 13 points, while Gibson added 12 in the Rainbows' first WAC win of the season.

Jan. 13: Hawaii 71, SMU 59 » With SMU's leading scorer sidelined, the Rainbows rolled to a convincing win behind a breakout performance by Jake Sottos. The senior came off the bench to pace the 'Bows with 17 points. The Mustangs played without guard Bryan Hopkins, who sat out the game with a sprained wrist.

Jan. 15: Louisiana Tech 61, Hawaii 59 » Wayne Powell scored on a putback with 3.3 seconds left as the Bulldogs snapped UH's 13-game home winning streak. It was the Rainbows' first loss at home since falling to the Bulldogs last season. The loss overshadowed Sottos' 20-point outing, in which he hit six 3-pointers.

Jan. 20: UTEP 71, Hawaii 70 » At El Paso, Texas, Omar Thomas made two free throws with 5.1 seconds left to hand UH yet another gut-wrenching loss. The Miners won despite making just three field goals in the second half, making up for it by draining 30 of 38 free throws. Sottos continued his hot shooting, going 7-for-7 from the field. He set a school record for 3-point percentage by hitting all six of his attempts beyond the arc.

Jan. 22: Boise State 80, Hawaii 76 » At Boise, Idaho, a flat first half proved costly for UH as the Broncos built a 20-point lead early in the second half and held off a UH rally to hand the Rainbows their third straight loss. Sensley recovered from a silent first half to score all of his team-high 14 points in the second.

Jan. 27: Hawaii 75, Rice 72 (OT) » Nash banked in a 3-pointer while being fouled and made the go-ahead free throw with 15.5 seconds left in overtime to send UH to a dramatic win. The improbable four-point play erased Rice's 72-69 advantage and UH overcame an 11-point second-half deficit to end a three-game skid.

Jan. 29: Hawaii 76, Tulsa 73 » Sottos scored 23 of his career-high 25 points in the second half and Sensley added 21 points as the Rainbows rallied past the Golden Hurricane on "White Out" night. The Rainbows trailed by 12 early in the second half before Sottos and Sensley took over. They accounted for 37 of UH's 46 second-half points.

Feb. 5: Hawaii 84, San Jose State 73 » At San Jose, Calif., Gibson broke out of a shooting slump to score a career-high 23 points and UH shot 57.7 percent from the field to ease past the Spartans. Gibson and Jake Sottos each hit five 3-pointers.

Feb. 10: Louisiana Tech 71, Hawaii 70 » At Ruston, La., Paul Millsap made a free throw with 4 seconds left as the Bulldogs edged the Rainbows again. UH rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to briefly take the lead. But LaTech made 22 free throws and Millsap posted 29 points and 13 rebounds as the Bulldogs won their third straight against UH.

Feb. 12: Southern Methodist 71, Hawaii 65 » At Dallas, Bryan Hopkins scored 27 points and SMU outrebounded UH 43-23 to spoil the Rainbows' last WAC visit to Moody Coliseum. The six-point margin was the largest in a UH loss to date.

Feb. 17: Hawaii 81, Boise State 67 » UH's execution of its flex offense led to 71 percent shooting in the second half as the Rainbows pulled away from the Broncos. Twenty-four of UH's 29 field goals came off assists. Gibson scored 21 points on 7-for-9 shooting from the field and Peciukas added a career-high 15 points.

Feb. 19: Wisconsin-Milwaukee 87, Hawaii 81 » UH struggled to counter UWM's quickness and committed a season-high 21 turnovers in a loss to the Panthers that was televised nationally as part of ESPN Bracket Busters Saturday. Gibson was 6-for-6 from 3-point range and finished with 26 points. But the Rainbows couldn't keep up with a fast-paced UWM attack led by Ed McCants' 20 points.

Feb. 21: UTEP 71, Hawaii 67 » The trend of close losses continued for the 'Bows as they dropped back-to-back home games for the first time since the 2000-01 season. Omar Thomas scored 27 points and Filiberto Rivera added 15 while orchestrating the Miners' offense. Sottos led UH with 15 points.

Feb. 25: Tulsa 83, Hawaii 76 » At Tulsa, Okla., Gibson and Sottos combined for 44 points, but UH lost in its final visit to Tulsa. The Rainbows led briefly on a Sensley 3-pointer with 3:17 left, but Chris Wallace responded with a trey and the Golden Hurricane held off UH down the stretch.

Feb. 27: Rice 80, Hawaii 61 » At Houston, a road-weary Rainbow team was thrashed by the Owls, who were led by Michael Harris' 30 points and 24 rebounds on senior day for the Owls. The Rice forward became the school's leading scorer and rebounder in the game. Gibson scored 22 points in the loss.

March 3: Nevada 55, Hawaii 47 » UH was held to 14 points in the first half and a second-half rally fell short against the No. 25 Wolf Pack, who clinched the WAC regular-season title with the win. UH's point total was its lowest since 1998. Nevada forward Nick Fazekas led all scorers with 20 points. Gibson was the only UH player to reach double figures with 14 points.

March 5: Hawaii 66, Fresno State 59 » The Rainbows won on senior night for the sixth straight year, giving Blackett, Peciukas and Sottos a rousing sendoff in their final home game. Gibson scored 24 of his game-high 26 points in the second half as UH ended a five-game losing streak. Botez added eight points, 11 rebounds and four blocks and the Rainbows limited the Bulldogs to eight second-half field goals.

March 8: Hawaii 72, San Jose State 48 » UH made quick work of the Spartans in a rare appearance in the WAC tournament's play-in round. All 10 Rainbows scored in one of the team's most complete performances of the season. Sensley led UH with 13 points and Nash added 11 off the bench for the 'Bows, who shot 57 percent in the second half.

March 10: UTEP 80, Hawaii 62 » The Miners jumped out to an early lead and were never threatened as UH was eliminated in the quarterfinals for the second straight year. Jason Williams sparked the Miners with 18 points. Forward Omar Thomas led all scorers with 21 points, while Filiberto Rivera scored 19. Sensley and Nash scored 13 each for UH, which was outrebounded 40-26 by the shorter but quicker Miners.