Turnovers take Rainbow Warrriors out of game
POSTED: Tuesday, December 09, 2008
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. » Hawaii associate basketball coach Jackson Wheeler had an almost pleading tone during a timeout late in the opening half of last night's nonconference basketball game at Illinois.
“;If we didn't turn the ball over we'd be right there,”; Wheeler told the huddled Rainbow Warriors, who trailed by just five at that point.
But the same woes that have plagued Hawaii all season reared up again as Illinois scored 28 points off turnovers on the way to a 68-58 victory at Assembly Hall.
“;You can't afford to give a good team like Illinois that many opportunities,”; said Hawaii head coach Bob Nash. “;They had a lot of easy transition baskets and that's way too many.
“;But I like the way the team fought and stayed together and they did an incredible job on the boards (a 43-14 advantage). Just way too many (22) turnovers.”;
The Rainbow Warriors saw their three-game winning streak snapped and fell to 0-6 against the Illini in a series that dates back to 1979.
Hawaii (3-3) had a promising start as junior forward Petras Balocka scored the game's first seven points. But after missing its first five shots, Illinois (8-1) suddenly turned opportunistic and rattled off nine unanswered points.
The game remained nip-and-tuck over the next 10 minutes, including a Roderick Flemings jumper that forced a 22-22 deadlock—the fourth and final tie—at the 4:12 mark.
Illinois then took off on a 17-4 run over the next 3:35 on the way to a 39-26 halftime lead.
“;We weren't ready to play at the beginning,”; said Illinois coach Bruce Weber. “;There was too much goofing around (before the game) and I think that's something about having a lot of young guys.
“;But we picked up the intensity after the start and had a good 10-12 minute finish to the half. And our defensive intensity obviously got them to turn over.”;
In the second half, Hawaii briefly closed the gap to nine points at 41-32 on a Paul Campbell tip-in. But Illinois quickly restored a double-digit lead and hit a high-water mark of 19 points with 5:15 left on Dominique Keller's three-point play.
Hawaii closed with 22 turnovers to only five for Illinois. The Rainbow Warriors, however, dominated the boards with a 43-14 rebounding edge.
It was an Assembly Hall record for fewest rebounds by an Illinois team.
“;We've just got to get back into the gym and practice,”; said Balocka, who closed with a game-high 21 points and 10 boards. “;This time (turnovers) were a big issue for us and we've just got to take care of the ball better and stop forcing a lot of things.”;
Illinois had three players in double figures led by Keller and Chester Frazier with 14 apiece while forward Mike Davis added 10. Flemings collected 14 points and a team-best 12 boards for Hawaii.
Monday's loss was the second-largest margin in the series after a 94-82 loss in 1979's inaugural meeting. Last year's game was a 79-77 thriller in Honolulu won on a layup by Illinois' Calvin Brock with 5 seconds left.
The Rainbow Warriors are scheduled to return home this afternoon and open an eight-game home stand on Saturday against Eastern Washington at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Hawaii won't make another road trip until Jan. 8 when it plays the first of two Western Athletic Conference games in Idaho.
Illinois' win was its eighth in nine starts. The Illini opened the season with six straight victories before falling to Clemson 76-74 in last week's ACC-Big Ten Challenge. They bounced back last Saturday to bury Georgia 76-42 at Chicago's United Center.
Illinois, which received a handful of votes in the latest Associated Press rankings, hosts Chicago State tomorrow. Chicago State then travels to Hawaii to play the Rainbows on Monday.
Illinois 68, Hawaii 58
Rainbow Warriors (3-3)
| fg-a | ft-a | rb | pf | pts | a | to | min |
||
| Balocka | 7-13 | 5-9 | 10 | 2 | 21 | 1 | 3 | 27 |
|
| Flemings | 6-11 | 2-3 | 12 | 3 | 14 | 2 | 3 | 38 |
|
| Mayen | 0-2 | 0-0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 18 |
|
| Amis | 2-6 | 0-0 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 35 |
|
| Nitoto | 0-2 | 3-4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 31 |
|
| Parghalava | 3-7 | 0-0 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 30 |
|
| Fitzgerald | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+ |
|
| Lutu | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
|
| Campbell | 3-3 | 0-0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
|
| Adams | 1-4 | 1-2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 11 |
|
| Jespersen | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+ |
|
| TEAM | 4 | ||||||||
| Totals | 22-48 | 11-18 | 43 | 13 | 58 | 12 | 22 | 200 |
|
Fighting Illini (8-1)
| fg-a | ft-a | rb | pf | pts | a | to | min |
||
| Davis | 5-10 | 0-0 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 29 |
|
| Tisdale | 0-4 | 0-0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 |
|
| Meacham | 2-7 | 2-2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 29 |
|
| Frazier | 5-7 | 0-0 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 29 |
|
| McCamey | 3-9 | 2-2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 1 | 28 |
|
| Jordan | 0-1 | 0-1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 18 |
|
| Keller | 5-7 | 3-3 | 2 | 4 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
|
| Brock | 4-5 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 16 |
|
| Cole | 0-1 | 0-0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
|
| Semrau | 3-4 | 0-1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 23 |
|
| TEAM | 3 |
||||||||
| Totals | 27-55 | 7-9 | 14 | 16 | 68 | 16 | 5 | 200 |
|
Key—fg-a: field goals made-attempted; ft-a: free throws made-attempted; rb: rebounds; pf: personal fould; pts: total points; a: assists; to: turnovers; min: minutes played.
Halftime—Illinois 39, Hawaii 26. Regulation—Illinois 68, Hawaii 58.
3-point goals—Hawaii 3-7 (Balocka 2-2, Parghalava 1-5), Illinois 7-18 (Frazier 4-6, Meacham 2-6, Keller 1-2, McCamey 0-3, Cole 0-1).
Steals—Hawaii 3(Nitoto 2, Balocka 1), Illinois 12 (Davis 3, Frazier 3, Brock 3, Meacham, Jordan, Semrau). Blocked shots—Hawaii 1 (Amis), Illinois 6 (Davis, Tisdale, Frazier, Keller, Brock, Semrau).
Officials—Ted Hillary, Steve Welmer, Jim Burr. Attendance—14,303.
