Aztecs shut down Rainbows, 60-49

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

SAN DIEGO — A Bland performance by San Diego State led to a bland result for the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team last night.

Hawai'i reserve guard Jason Carter drives past San Diego State's Tommy Johnson in the first half. Associated Press

Hawai'i fell to 2-1, while SDSU improved to 4-3, its best start in six seasons.

Since the start of last season, the 'Bows are 29-7. The Aztecs, who beat UH 61-58 in the Stan Sheriff Center last season, are the only team to own two victories over the 'Bows in that stretch.

Last season's game was also played on Dec. 14. A year later, the Aztecs relied on the same aggressive man-to-man scheme to disrupt UH's normally precise flex-motion offense.

"By far our best defensive effort of the season," SDSU head coach Steve Fisher said. "And against a team that executes better than anybody we'll play."

UH head coach Riley Wallace summed up the game in simple terms: "They were playing good defense and we weren't playing good offense."

The proof came in the numbers.

Hawai'i was held below 50 points for the first time since a 53-49 loss to Bowling Green on Nov. 21, 1999. The 'Bows finished with a .340 shooting percentage (17-for-50), their lowest figure since the Aztecs held them to .315 last season. They also committed 21 turnovers, their most since — you guessed it — SDSU forced them into 18 last year.

"Last year, when we went to Hawai'i, we were real aggressive," said SDSU center Mike Mackell. "We wanted to carry over the same thing this year. It was just our ball pressure. We didn't let up."

Indeed, three Hawai'i starters — Mark Campbell, Vaidotas Peciukas and Haim Shimonovich — were held scoreless. The most significant was Shimonovich, who had averaged 18.0 points in UH's first two victories of the season.

"It hurt us because that's what's missing out of what we had the first two ball games," Wallace said.

Fisher credited Bland for leading the Aztecs, describing the 6-foot-5 senior guard as "sensational defensively."

Bland also scored a game-high 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting. Mackell added 15 points and eight rebounds.

"I was going out there trying to be defensive minded," Bland said. "I think by me playing good defense, it led to me getting momentum and a rhythm on offense."

But even with its offense sputtering, Hawai'i stayed with the Aztecs for 36 of the game's 40 minutes.

Even while shooting a dismal 26 percent (7-of-27) from the field in the first half, the 'Bows were tied with the Aztecs, 22-22, at intermission.

Hawai'i opened the game by hitting just three of its first 16 shots, and fell behind 17-9. SDSU then went scoreless for a stretch that lasted nearly seven minutes. During that time, Hawai'i went on a 13-0 surge to take a 22-17 lead.

According to Wallace, UH "made some mistakes to let them get back in it," as the Aztecs scored five points in the final 1:16 of the half to tie the score at intermission.

SDSU scored the first five points of the second half and never relinquished the lead.

"They were putting a lot more pressure on us," said UH forward Phil Martin. "But one thing they took away was our transition game ... they just cut the (passing) lanes really well."

Hawai'i got as close as 40-38 with 7:59 remaining, but the Aztecs went on a 13-3 run over the next four minutes to seize the victory.

"It's tough when they're in your face," UH junior guard Carl English said. "Every cut has to be right there when you want it."

English was relentless in defeat, finishing with a statistical double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds. But in the decisive second half, English scored only four points while being defended primarily by Bland.

Martin added 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting. He was the only UH player to convert more than 50 percent of his field goals.

Wallace was quick to point out the difference in second-half free throws: SDSU was 13-of-19; UH was 5-of-6. In the first half, the Aztecs did not attempt one free throw while Hawai'i was 4-of-7.

"They were the ones putting all the pressure on and they got 19 free throws in the second half, and we got six," Wallace said. "That was the difference in the ball game, I thought, because they were able to get away with that."

Hawai'i out-rebounded the Aztecs, 38-28, but Fisher was satisfied, saying, "I was proud of how we defended, and rebounding is the last part of defense."

UH is scheduled to return home today. Its next games will be in the Adidas Festival, Friday and Saturday at the Stan Sheriff Center. UH's next game will be against Eastern Illinois at 8 p.m. Friday.

"We just have to forget about this loss right now and learn from our mistakes," English said.

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