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.
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| Hawai'i's Carl English (23) and Todd Fields block Texas Christian's Marlon Dumont from taking a shot during a Western Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinal game at Tulsa, Okla.
Associated Press |
The fifth-seeded Rainbows set a WAC Tournament record with 26 assists in a 99-79 rout of No. 4 Texas Christian in yesterday’s quarterfinals at the Donald W. Reynolds Center. Hawai‘i, which improved to 15-13, will play No. 1 Fresno State (25-5) in a semifinal game today at 2 p.m. (HST). Fresno State beat Rice, 60-52, in another quarterfinal yesterday.
"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 to hand TCU its worst loss of the season.
"It was our night," Wallace said matter-of-factly.
The Rainbows had a surprise 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-to-1 assists-to-turnovers 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 points, 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."
The crowd of 2,759 opted to cheer for Hawai‘i — or against despised TCU coach Billy Tubbs, to be more accurate.
"Tulsa people will pull against Billy, not TCU," Wallace said. "You have to be from Oklahoma to understand."
In any case, 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. When TCU ran its vaunted full-court press, the Rainbows often got past it for easy layups. When the Horned Frogs switched to a half-court zone, Hawai‘i hit from long-range.
"We switched defenses, but we never could get anything substantial," Tubbs said. "The fact is, they played an absolutely great game. On the other hand, that’s probably as bad as we’ve played the whole year."
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. 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," Tubbs said. "We had really nothing going for us. Not only were we not stopping them, we weren’t getting much offensively."
After taking a 47-34 lead at halftime, the Rainbows never allowed the Horned Frogs to get closer than 11 in the second half. With just over 10 minutes remaining, Hawai‘i led 76-48. Only a game-high 26 points by forward Bingo Merriex prevented it from getting worse for TCU.
Hawai‘i reserves Carl English (nine points), Haim Shimonovich (nine points on 4-of-4 shooting) and Mindaugas Burneika (four points, four assists) each played key roles in the second-half demolition. Perhaps in fitting fashion, seldom-used 5-4 walk-on Lance Takaki scored the Rainbows’ final basket in the closing seconds.
"This team has given me a feeling I’ve never had," Wallace said. "These guys do what I ask them to do. They execute and do all the things so that I don’t have to rant and rave."
Added Tubbs: "I think Hawai‘i does the best job of anybody in the league of running a half-court offense. ... This Hawai‘i team runs it better than anbody’s run it since we’ve been playing them."
TCU, which dropped to 20-11, left yesterday’s game with questions beyond its embarrassing loss. The Horned Frogs, who will join Conference USA next season, ruined any chances they may have had for a spot in the NCAA Tournament, and will now have to wait for a bid to the NIT that may or may not come. What’s more, rumors were circulating around the media room yesterday that Tubbs may not be asked to return to TCU next season.
 Epic rematch: Hawai‘i’s victory yesterday set up a rematch of last year’s thrilling WAC Tournament semifinal game with Fresno State. Last year, the Bulldogs beat the Rainbows, 103-100 in double overtime.
"We know we can play with them if we step it up and don’t let the traps and the press bother us," Wallace said.
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