UH bounces Boise State

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

You know you're a pretty good team when an 11-point victory is considered unsatisfactory.

Hawai'i's Predrag Savovic scored on a reverse layup past the defense of Boise State's Trever Tillman during the first half of last night's Western Athletic Conference game at the Stan Sheriff Center. UH won, 67-56. Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser

A crowd of 6,014 at the Stan Sheriff Center watched the Rainbow Warriors win their eighth consecutive home game to improve to 18-3 overall. Most important, Hawai'i remained alone in first place in the Western Athletic Conference at 9-1, which includes two victories over Boise State. It is the best conference start for UH since joining the WAC in 1980.

"We're 18-3 and 9-1; that sounds awfully good doesn't it?" UH head coach Riley Wallace said. "But we're not good enough to win the WAC right now, in my opinion."

The 'Bows certainly were not at their best last night against a Boise State team that extended its losing streak to five, and fell to 8-12 overall and 2-8 in the WAC.

"They dictated the tempo," UH junior point guard Mark Campbell said. "It was a grind-out kind of game, and we were fortunate to come out with the win."

Predrag Savovic led Hawai'i with 20 points, while Mike McIntyre added 14. Mindaugas Burneika added 10 points and four rebounds off the bench.

The senior captains also combined to make seven 3-pointers as the 'Bows continued their uncanny long-range shooting against WAC opponents.

As a team, UH shot 8-of-21 from 3-point range. In its last three games — all victories — the 'Bows have made 27 3-pointers.

However, Hawai'i shot just 38 percent from the field (20-of-53) overall last night.

"Our execution was not great, but it was enough to win the game," said Savovic, who also contributed eight rebounds.

Even Boise State head coach Rod Jensen said he was surprised at the way the Broncos were able to hang close to the 'Bows for most of the second half.

"Our effort tonight was as good as its been in a long time," Jensen said. "We gave ourselves a chance, that's all you can ask for."

Boise State got as close as 46-44 with 7:01 remaining, but Savovic and McIntyre responded with key baskets to secure the victory.

Savovic's 3-pointer — the only 3 by UH in the second half — made the score 49-44. McIntyre then drained a 17-foot jump shot to make it 51-44 with 4:18 remaining. The Broncos never got closer than five after that.

"Those are our seniors, and you want the ball in their hands at crunch time," Wallace said.

McIntyre was also in the middle of a crucial UH surge in the first half that proved to be the most significant three minutes of the game. Just as he did at Rice and Tulsa last week, McIntyre led a Hawai'i rally with his torrid 3-point shooting.

During a three-minute blitz toward the end of the first half, McIntyre went 4-for-4 from 3-point range to highlight a 15-4 UH surge. Before McIntyre's long-range barrage, the 'Bows trailed, 15-14. By the end of it, Hawai'i led 29-19.

"It was just shots I work on in practice," said McIntyre, who was named the WAC Player of the Week on Monday. "It's just that they're going in."

The 'Bows took a 37-28 lead into halftime, and never relinquished it in the second half.

However, the Broncos made it interesting behind an aggressive man-to-man defense. After shooting 7-of-15 from 3-point range in the first half, the 'Bows were just 1-of-6 in the second half.

"We weren't recognizing the defense at all," McIntyre said. "We were taking quick shots instead of working the offense."

Wallace added: "That's the best defensive team we've played this year. They played us better than anybody all year. They don't give you any good looks."

While the Broncos' aggressive defense was able to limit Hawai'i to just six field goals in 20 attempts (30 percent) in the second half, they also committed 17 fouls. That led to the 'Bows shooting 17-of-23 from the free-throw line.

"They wouldn't give us the buckets, but they gave us the free throws," Wallace said. "So we had to make sure we made them."

For the game, UH was 19-of-25 from the free-throw line (76 percent). In the final 1:03, the 'Bows converted nine of 12 free throws to clinch the victory.

By comparison, Boise State was 11-of-18 on its free throws.

Hawai'i also collected 10 steals, while forcing 16 Bronco turnovers. Boise State shot 49 percent (21-of-43) from the field, although just 39 percent (10-of-26) in the second half.

"The problem was we didn't get enough shots," Jensen said. "That was because we had turnovers and the way (Hawai'i) rebounded."

The 'Bows out-rebounded the Broncos, 31-28.

"No matter what our offense does, defense will keep us in games," said Campbell, who collected five steals.

Abe Jackson, the WAC's second-leading scorer, led the Broncos with a game-high 21 points. He entered the game averaging 19.3 points per game. Bryan Defares added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Broncos.

Hawai'i will play another home game tomorrow against Texas-El Paso. UTEP, which was the only WAC team to beat UH in the Stan Sheriff Center last season, lost at San Jose State last night, 67-62.