'Bows face Aztecs in first road game
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
SAN DIEGO — There are more than 200 shops at the Fashion Valley Mall, where the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team went Christmas shopping yesterday.
None of those shops had the one item at the top of the Rainbow Warriors' wish list this week: revenge.
They hope to find it tonight in Cox Arena against San Diego State. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:05 p.m. (Hawai'i time).
The Aztecs were the only team to beat the 'Bows in the Stan Sheriff Center last season.
"That's a factor, definitely," said Hawai'i junior guard Carl English. "They beat us in a game we feel we should have won. This is our chance to pay them back at their place."
Indications are, tonight's game will be every bit as close as last season's 61-58 SDSU victory.
For starters, both teams are labeling the game as part of a "renewed" season.
The 'Bows are 2-0, but have not played a regular-season game since Nov. 24. This is also their first, and only, non-conference road game of the season.
"Both teams have something to play for," UH head coach Riley Wallace said. "They can't afford any more losses, and we need to come out and show we can beat a good team on the road."
The Aztecs are 3-3, but three players have been added to the roster in the last ten days. All three are significant additions, including guard Travis Hanour, who became eligible yesterday and is expected to play his first game of the season tonight. Evan Burns, the first McDonald's High School All-America player ever to sign with SDSU, and Chris Manker, a 7-foot transfer from Oregon State, became eligible last week.
"We're like a team that started practicing for the first time (yesterday)," said SDSU head coach Steve Fisher, who was the head coach of Michigan's famous "Fab Five" teams of the early 1990s. "We're still new to each other, so it's hard to tell how we'll respond."
Through the first six games, the Aztecs have been led by the inside-out combination of 6-foot-9 center Mike Mackell and 6-5 guard Tony Bland.
Mackell is averaging 17.3 points and 7 rebounds a game; Bland is contributing 16.2 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. Both were starters in last season's victory over UH.
"Mike has been a good low-post player for us," Fisher said. "He's strong and aggressive, so we like to go to him. But he's going to have his hands full with Shimonovich."
UH center Haim Shimonovich averaged 18 points and 6.5 rebounds in this season's first two games.
"Of course, we remember what happened last year," Shimonovich said. "But this is not like a rivalry or anything like that. We want to get our revenge, but we also want to beat them like we want to beat every team we play."
Bland said the Aztecs have not even mentioned last season's victory over Hawai'i during practices this week.
"It's a double-edged sword," Bland said. "We have confidence knowing we were the only team to beat them over there. But at the same time, we know Hawai'i is going to come after us hard because of that."
According to Wallace, the Aztecs are "a quick, athletic team that likes to get you in an up-tempo game."
To counter that, the 'Bows plan to be selective with their flex-motion offense. At yesterday's practice, Wallace constantly reminded his players to "stay with the offense; don't give up on it."
"We have to pick our spots to run, but we have to be patient and find our shooters," Wallace added.
SDSU starting point guard Deandre Moore, a reserve in last season's victory over UH, said the Aztecs hope to get the 'Bows in a running game, but are also prepared for a slower pace.
"They run their offense to perfection," Moore said. "They can take 32 seconds off the (shot) clock and still get off a good shot in those last three seconds. Just like last year, we have to be at our best on defense."
Perhaps because of that, Bland described Hawai'i as "the type of team you hate playing." But he also had high praise for the 'Bows, saying "nobody knows much about them outside of the Islands, but if they were in the Pac-10, I bet they'd be ranked."
The Aztecs lost by eight, 89-81, to No. 1 Arizona of the Pac-10 last week at Cox Arena.
"We don't have too many strong teams on our schedule this year," Wallace said. "This is one of them, and it's on the road. If we can pull it off, it would be a very good win."
