UWM unties ’Bows

Lojeski sprains his shoulder, and Hawaii turns the ball over 20 times in a loss to the Panthers

MILWAUKEE » Getting here was rough for the Hawaii men's basketball team. The team had that 8 a.m. Thursday flight out of Honolulu, and, due to a flight cancellation and delays on the ground at O'Hare Airport in Chicago, did not check in to its Milwaukee hotel until 6 a.m. Friday.

UWM: 58 HAWAII: 52 NEXT UP: vs. Utah State, Saturday

The mounting annoyances of Thursday and the jet lag of Friday should have been in the rear-view mirror when it was time to get down to business last night against Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

What the Rainbow Warriors showed a crowd of 4,325, which included some 150 family members and fans of local products Matt Lojeski and Deonte Tatum, was the road-kill team.

Tying a season high with 20 turnovers. Scoring a season-low 21 points during the first half. Impatience on offense. Breakdowns on defense.

In the end, it was a 58-52 defeat to a Wisconsin-Milwaukee team favored to win its Horizon League after making an impressive run to the Sweet 16 in last season's NCAA Tournament.

The defeat may not have been the worst of it.

Lojeski, from nearby Racine, suffered what was diagnosed as a Grade 1 sprain of his left AC joint (shoulder). It happened when he had a shot blocked by Jason McCoy with 8:20 to play in the game and Hawaii trailing 44-35.

Lojeski left with season lows of six points and one rebound. He had four turnovers, but contributed in other ways with two assists, two blocked shots and two steals in 27 minutes.

"It was probably the worst thing that could have happened," a clearly dejected Lojeski said. "We lost a game, we struggled and I got hurt. It couldn't have been any worse, I don't think."

It was really bad during a stretch late in the first half. On nine possessions, Hawaii had five turnovers, three rushed shots and an air ball. The only saving grace was a pair of free throws by Tatum.

It is obvious from listening to coach Riley Wallace, Lojeski and Tatum that playing on the road has gotten into their heads.

"That's just how we looked at (Las) Vegas," Wallace said about a Nov. 22 game in which his team scored 22 points during the second half of a 67-61 loss. "I coach two different teams. That's our road team.

"In spurts in the second half, we picked it up and got it together. But not enough. They're just too good a ballclub. They're not going to let you take it away from them down the stretch."

Lojeski feels the same way.

"We're two different teams," Lojeski said while taking a break from signing autographs for the friends and family members who stayed around afterward. "At home, we win every game. We come out with energy, we're in our (offense). And then we go on the road and we're running all over the place out of control."

Tatum made it sound as if the problems away from the Stan Sheriff Center have been going on for months.

"We couldn't execute down the stretch again," said Tatum, who was given one of the Milwaukee Vincent High School uniform tops he wore outside the locker room after the game. "This is the second time we've been on the road and haven't been able to execute down the stretch.

"When the game's on the line, we don't make those one or two plays that we should, then the game turns. When we learn to make those plays, it's going to make a huge difference for our team."

It wasn't all bad.

Ahmet Gueye had a game-high 19 points and added eight rebounds. Julian Sensley had his first double-double of the season -- and 12th as a Rainbow Warrior -- with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Matthew Gipson also had 10 rebounds, and Hawaii ended up with a 42-36 advantage on the backboards.

Even with the brutal first-half stretch, Hawaii (3-2) trailed at the break by just five, 26-21. The Panthers (4-2) allowed Hawaii to close to 36-33, but had their biggest lead, 53-39, with 6:06 to play

With the help of poor free-throw shooting by Wisconsin-Milwaukee (7-for-16 in the game), Hawaii fought back to 55-52 with 56 seconds to play when Sensley scored to complete a 9-0 run.

The Panthers' Chris Hill, who twice during the last 2:28 missed the front end in the bonus situation, made one of two with 33.6 seconds to go to make it 56-52. But Tatum had the ball stolen by Jason McCoy, which led to a clinching dunk by Boo Davis with 14 seconds to go.

UW-Milwaukee senior forward Adrian Tigert again did it to Hawaii. The 6-foot-7 Tigert, who scored 19 points in the Panthers' victory in Honolulu last season, made some agile moves inside, added a 3-pointer and led the Panthers with 16 points on 7-for-11 shooting.

"That Tigert kid is a killer," Wallace said. "I hope he graduates. He went 6-for-6 against us last year. He's the Rainbow Warrior killer."

Wallace does understand that there is a long way to go this season.

"We're going to be all right," he said. "We've gotta go home now. We've got seven straight at home, so we'll get it straightened out there."

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