By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
TULSA, Okla. — Extra passing earned the Hawai‘i men’s basketball team an extra day in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament.
The Rainbows set a WAC Tournament record with 26 assists in a 99-79 rout of Texas Christian in today’s quarterfinals at the Donald W. Reynolds Center. Hawai‘i will play No. 1 seed Fresno State in a semifinal game today at 2 p.m. (HST).
“These guys are the most unselfish team I’ve probably ever coached,” Hawai‘i coach Riley Wallace said. “They like to make the extra pass, and even the extra-extra pass to get their teammate a shot.”
As a result, the Rainbows dismantled the normally-relentless TCU defense by shooting 60 percent (36-of-60) from the field. Included in that percentage was a school record-tying 13 3-pointers in 24 attempts.
Hawai‘i also out-rebounded the Horned Frogs, 38-28, and never allowed the lead to dip below double-digits in the second half.
“It was our night,” Wallace said matter-of-factly.
As surprising as the margin of victory was the Rainbows’ leader in assists: Troy Ostler. The 6-foot-10 senior center had eight assists in addition to 19 points and five rebounds.
“It’s usually the other way around,” Ostler said of his 8-1 assists-to-turnover ratio. “It’s just a credit to the guys for getting open and hitting the shots.”
The primary benefactor was guard Predrag Savovic, who proved his All-WAC worth with 24 points, including 5-of-7 shooting from 3-point range. He also had six rebounds and five assists before fouling out with three minutes remaining. Forward Nerijus Puida added 21, and also connected on five 3-pointers.
“We made the extra pass, we found the open man, and that’s what you get,” said Savovic.
Already acclimated to the Tulsa terrain, the Rainbows played the way they normally do at home, where they went 7-1 against WAC teams this season. Wallace went so far as to label the Rainbows adopted “Okies.”
“We came over here (on Sunday) and became local,” he said. “We’re eating at the Golden Corral and the Rib Crib. We even know Tuesday is all-you-can-eat night. We got it all down. We’re home boys.”
To be sure, the Rainbows came out like a Tulsa twister, dizzying the Horned Frogs with crisp and patient passing that almost always led to a wide-open shot. TCU’s only glory came early in the game, when it held a short-lived 8-6 lead.
From there, Hawai‘i went on an 8-0 run to take a 14-8 lead it would not relinquish the rest of the way. A 14-2 surge by the Rainbows increased the lead to 37-20 late in the first half, and all but put the game away.
“Once they got the lead, they controlled the game the rest of the way,” TCU coach Billy Tubbs said. “We had really nothing going for us. Not only were we not stopping them, we weren’t getting much offensively.”
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