'Bows win Classic opener
| • | A look at the Rainbow Classic teams |
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
The University of Hawai'i men's basketball team came up big in more ways than one in a 75-68 victory over Portland on the opening night of the Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic last night.
Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser
For one — and perhaps most important — the Rainbow Warriors advanced to tomorrow night's nationally televised semifinals with the victory, avoiding the lonely afternoon consolation bracket.
Hawai'i's Predrag Savovic drives past Portland guard Ross Jorgusen during the first half at Stan Sheriff Center. The Rainbows won their Rainbow Classic opener, 75-68.
"We're playing at night and it's a win," UH head coach Riley Wallace said with a sigh of relief.
The 'Bows will play Iona in tomorrow's second semifinal game around 7:30 p.m.
Last night, a crowd of 4,305 at the Stan Sheriff Center watched Hawai'i improve to 7-2. The 'Bows rebounded from a loss to San Diego State last Friday by relying on rebounds.
"Big night for us on the boards," Wallace said of UH's 42-27 rebounding advantage. "I told them we can be in a shooting slump, which we were, but if you go get rebounds, you won't have to worry about it."
Perhaps the biggest rebound was made by Predrag Savovic, who scored a game-high 24 points, including four 3-pointers, in his second game of the season. Savovic, a 6-foot-6 senior guard, scored 16 during what proved to be a crucial first half.
"We just played better as a team and we passed the ball well," Savovic said.
In his season debut against San Diego State, Savovic was held to 12 points on 2-of-13 shooting. Last night, he shot 9-of-19 from the field, including 4-of-9 from 3-point range.
Sophomore Phil Martin also played big, contributing 12 points and 10 rebounds. Mike McIntyre came off the bench to contribute 12 points, including three 3-pointers.
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| Hawai'i guard Mark Campbell scores on a layup as Portland's Casey Frandsen looks on.
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As proof, 25 of UH's 27 field goals came off assists. Junior point guard Mike Campbell paced the offense with seven assists, and all eight 'Bows who saw action had at least one assist.
Martin, a 6-foot-8 power forward, was challenged by Wallace in practice this week to "be a man," and he was just that in the opening minutes.
He hit his first six shots of the game, and had 12 points and four rebounds in the first half. He did not score in the second half, but grabbed six rebounds and recorded a highlight-reel blocked shot.
"I felt I responded to Coach's challenge" Martin said.
Added Wallace: "It seems to be a key — when Phil comes to play, we win."
It helped that the Pilots do not have a player taller than 6-7, and they start four players who are 6-4 and shorter.
"I guess couple inches over my man helped me," said Martin, who was defended by 6-4 Portland freshman Karl Aaker. "So I don't see this game as a great feat. You just do what you gotta do and take advantage of the situation."
Haim Shimonovich, UH's 6-10 center, did the same, finishing with seven points and eight rebounds.
"I thought the difference was Hawai'i's energy on the boards," Portland head coach Michael Holton said. "I knew it would be a challenge because of their size. It turned out to be too big of a challenge."
Still, the scrappy Pilots made it close.
Savovic's first 3-pointer of the game gave UH a 10-7 lead it would never relinquish in the game's final 35 minutes. Hawai'i led by as many as 14 points midway through the first half before settling for a 41-36 advantage at halftime.
"I felt fortunate to be down only five," Holton said. "It seemed like (Hawai'i) was playing with way more energy than we were."
The Pilots turned it up in the second half, but McIntyre scored 11 of his points in the first nine minutes of the second half to keep the 'Bows ahead.
"Mike, I thought turned things around when they were running at us," Wallace said. "He picked it up."
The 'Bows led by as many as 55-42 in the second half, but the Pilots made it exciting with a late flurry. Portland got as close as 72-68 with 1:28 remaining in the game, but Campbell made two free throws and Savovic one in the final 27 seconds to keep the Pilots at bay.
• Iona 71, Holy Cross 59: The Gaels went on a second-half surge to defeat the Crusaders in last night's opening game.
Iona rallied from a seven-point deficit by shooting 65 percent from the field, including 6-of-10 from 3-point range, in the second half.
Iona's Courtney Fields scored a game-high 19 points.
