FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM Julian Sensley, who made the All-WAC first team, threw down a dunk during the senior ceremony Saturday.

Sensley All-WAC

The Hawaii senior forward is one of four Rainbows to earn conference honors

Julian Sensley stepped up his game, and coaches around the Western Athletic Conference took notice.

The University of Hawaii forward from Kailua increased his scoring average by more than five points over last season and was rewarded with a place on the All-WAC first team yesterday.

Sensley was among four Rainbow Warriors honored by the conference's coaches.

Guard Dominic Waters was named Freshman of the Year, and juniors guard Matt Lojeski and forward Ahmet Gueye made the All-Newcomer team.

Gueye, the WAC's leading shot blocker, was also named to the All-Defensive team.

Sensley averaged a team-high 17.7 points per game as a senior, good for fifth overall in the WAC. In league games, that figure jumped to 18.7 ppg as he shot 46 percent from the field in 16 WAC games.

He also ranked ninth in the league in both rebounding, with 5.9 boards per game, and assists with 3.2, and played a WAC-high 37 minutes per game.

Sensley was named to the All-WAC preseason team the last two years, but earned his first postseason honor as a senior.

"He's the perfect example of what hard work will do," Hawaii coach Riley Wallace said. "He turned the corner on the work ethic and really went to work."

Nevada forward Nick Fazekas earned his second WAC Player of the Year award. He led the league in scoring (23 ppg) and was second in rebounding (11.6) in helping the Wolf Pack win the regular-season championship and the top seed in this week's WAC tournament in Reno.

ASSOCIATED PRESS Nevada's Nick Fazekas was named WAC Player of the Year for the second consecutive time.

Nevada's Mark Fox won the Don Haskins Coach of the Year award.

Waters played in 19 games as a freshman and averaged 3.1 points, going 10-for-21 from 3-point range.

"He's an offensive threat and he's got quickness. He'll be a good player," Wallace said.

Lojeski, a junior transfer from Eastern Wyoming College, is second on the team in scoring at 13.7 ppg and shot 87 percent from the free-throw line (40-for-46) in league play. He also leads UH in steals with 35.

Gueye, who transferred from Salt Lake Community College, led the Rainbows with 7.7 rebounds per game and blocked 2.5 shots per contest for a total of 65. His presence solidified the middle of the UH defense and will be missed as UH heads into the WAC tournament.

Gueye suffered a season-ending knee injury in practice last Friday, leaving the Rainbows with nine players available for the WAC tournament.

UH, the fourth seed in the tournament, leaves today for Reno and will face fifth-seeded New Mexico State in a quarterfinal game at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Lawlor Events Center.

The Rainbows and Aggies split the season series and met last Thursday at the Stan Sheriff Center, with UH pulling out a 61-56 win.

The Hawaii women's team had one player recognized, with center Brittany Grice named to the All-Defensive team.

The 6-foot-4 junior led the WAC in blocked shots with 64 and was fifth in rebounding with 7.7 per game.

She missed Saturday's regular-season finale at Louisiana Tech due to a suspension for a violation of team rules. Her status for the tournament remains uncertain; no official decision has been made by the coaches.

The third-seeded Rainbow Wahine play Boise State at 10 a.m. Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the women's tournament in Reno.

Fresno State guard Mirenda Swearengin was the women's Player of the Year and Louisiana Tech's Chris Long was named Coach of the Year.