By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
SAN JOSE, Calif. — There is no zoo in San Jose, but the Hawai‘i men’s basketball team is leaving a huge monkey behind anyway.
The Rainbows earned their first road victory of the season, 71-61, over San Jose State last night at The Event Center. Prior to last night, Hawai‘i had been 0-7 away from the Stan Sheriff Center.
"I think you guys (the media) put the monkey on us," said UH coach Riley Wallace. "But, yeah, it feels great to get it off."
With one regular-season game remaining — tomorrow at Texas-El Paso — the Rainbows are in a tie with Southern Methodist and Texas Christian for fourth place in the nine-team Western Athletic Conference. UTEP is in third place, only one game ahead.
"We’ve been doubtful of ourselves on the road," freshman guard Carl English said. "But that’s all changed now. We got that monkey off our back."
A sparse crowd of 1,041, including about 100 Hawai‘i rooters, watched the Rainbows improve to 14-12 overall and 8-7 in the WAC with their fourth consecutive victory. They also spoiled Senior Night for the Spartans, who fell to 14-13 and 6-10.
The Rainbows lifted the weight of the WAC road off their shoulders with an "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can ..." effort fitting for their newfound positive mental outlook.
For the first time this season, the Rainbows brought two psychologists on the road with them. Their theme became team unity.
"I don’t think there’s any question that helped," said Wallace. "This team really bought into it and you could tell because they stuck together mentally when it counted."
Hawai‘i rallied from a four-point second-half deficit by executing the team-oriented motion offense that has worked so well at home.
"We played the same way we do at home," said guard Predrag Savovic, who scored a game-high 29 points. "I took the shots I always take, but it wasn’t just me. The whole team came through."
As proof, each of the nine Rainbows who saw action passed for at least one assist. All told, 20 of the team’s 26 field goals came off assists.
"Patience," Wallace emphasized. "We were setting good picks all night, it’s just that we started making the shots in the second half."
Savovic was the primary benefactor, scoring 17 during the second half. For the game, he shot 10-of-19 from the field (although just 3-of-9 from 3-point range), and made all six of his free throws.
"I always thought he was one of the better players in the league," San Jose State coach Steve Barnes said. "That’s why I voted him first-team (All-WAC)."
However, the key player in the Rainbows’ second-half surge may have been English, a 6-foot-4 back-up point guard. In relief of starter Mike McIntyre, English scored a career-high 15 points, including 13 in the second half. He also grabbed four rebounds, passed for three assists and did not commit a single turnover in 27 minutes.
"I see what’s going on from the bench, so I try to use that to my advantage when I do get in," he said.
To be sure, he scored five points during a 7-0 surge that turned a 46-42 deficit into a 49-46 lead with 8:39 remaining. Hawai‘i would never relinquish the lead, and never allowed the Spartans to get closer than four in the game’s final five minutes.
"That’s because we stayed together," said forward Nerijus Puida, who contributed seven points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals. "We didn’t panic, and we didn’t force shots like we were doing on the road before."
A depleted San Jose State team that committed 21 turnovers, including 11 in the second half, helped the Rainbow cause. Most notable, senior point guard Mike Garrett was not in uniform last night because of a knee injury. He scored 21 in the Spartans’ one-point loss to Hawai‘i in Honolulu last month.
"He makes a big difference," Barnes said.
The Rainbows took advantage early, racing to an 18-10 lead after Savovic scored seven during a 12-2 run. A putback at the halftime buzzer by San Jose State’s Cory Powell cut the Hawai‘i lead to 30-27 at intermission.
Still, it was the first time all season that the Rainbows held a lead at halftime on the road. In home games that they’ve led at halftime, they were 12-0 prior to last night.
The trend held form, despite a second-half surge by the Spartans.
San Jose State opened the second half with a 9-2 run that put it ahead, 36-32. The Spartans held the lead for a seven-minute stretch before the late Rainbow rally.
Coincidentally, Hawai‘i regained the lead when Powell left the game with a stomach illness. He threw up in the locker room midway through the second half, and was ineffective upon his return. He finished with 19 points on 9-of-11 shooting, but was held scoreless in the final 13 minutes. Fellow senior forward Darnell Williams also scored 19.
Three Rainbows combined to shoot 6-for-6 from the free-throw line to preserve the victory. For the game, Hawai‘i connected on 15-of-16 free throws, and out-rebounded the Spartans, 26-24.
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