UH routs Rice in home final

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawai'i senior Predrag Savovic scored 12 points in his final regular-season home game for the Rainbow Warriors last night at the Stan Sheriff Center. UH beat Rice, 79-50. Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser

In front of 9,010 guests at the Stan Sheriff Center, the Rainbow Warriors celebrated their home finale in style with a 79-50 rout of Rice.

"It was unbelievable," said UH forward Mindaugas Burneika, one of three seniors playing in the Sheriff Center for the last time. "So much emotion; so much fun. It was the best way to go out."

Among the reasons to celebrate:

• The 'Bows improved to 23-4 overall and 14-2 in the Western Athletic Conference. With one week remaining in the regular season, Hawai'i is one win away from clinching the top seed for the WAC Tournament, which is scheduled for March 6-9 at Tulsa, Okla.

"We know we still have work to do," Burneika said.

The 23 victories is already the third-best total in UH history. Only the "Fabulous Five" team of 1971-72 (24 wins) and the NIT team of 1989-90 (25 wins) had more.

• Carl English, a sophomore and the heir apparent to brilliant senior Predrag Savovic, finished with a game-high 21 points. He scored 17 during the decisive first half, when Hawai'i jumped to a 37-24 lead.

"Carl is going to have to do a lot of carrying when (the seniors) are gone," UH head coach Riley Wallace said. "But he had that feel."

English finished 6-of-9 from the field, including 5-of-7 from 3-point range.

He scored nine points — all on 3-pointers — in the first six minutes of the game, as UH raced to a 14-6 lead. Rice got as close as 22-19, but the 'Bows responded with a 12-2 run that pushed the lead to a commanding 34-21. English scored eight during the surge.

"I told the seniors I was going to send them out with a bang," English said.

He added just four points in the second half, and explained: "Once we got that lead, I just laid back and told (the seniors) 'You guys take it from here.' "

• Burneika, who scored a season-high 20 points off the bench.

He scored six — including a highlight-reel dunk — during a 15-2 Hawai'i run early in the second that gave the 'Bows a 54-30 lead with 10:44 remaining. Rice never got closer than 22 after that.

"The guys passed me the ball and I did what I had to do," Burneika said.

• Savovic, the zany but prolific shooter, who finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

"We played for fun tonight," he said. "We played for this beautiful audience and these beautiful people."

Savovic also made two 3-pointers, making him the all-time UH leader in that category with 162.

• Mike McIntyre, the third senior who had one of the worst shooting nights of his four-year career, yet still managed to please the home crowd.

He shot 0-for-12 from the field, including 0-for-6 from 3-point range. He finished with six points, all on free throws.

After making his first free throw of the game with 6:11 remaining, the crowd gave him a standing ovation, as he turned and flashed a huge smile.

After the game, all three seniors were honored. They each completed one final dunk before receiving a seemingly endless string of lei from fans.

"I love these people and I love this place," Savovic declared.

• The Hawai'i defense, which held Rice to 39 percent shooting (20-of-52), including just 2-of-10 from 3-point range. It was the 11th time this season that UH has held its opponent to less than 60 points.

"It was an incredibly physical game and Hawai'i was the aggressor," Rice head coach Willis Wilson said. "That's why they got so many calls in their favor. But that's what champions do — they make their own breaks."

Rice was called for 25 fouls, leading Hawai'i to shoot 24-of-30 from the free throw line. In contrast, the 'Bows committed 19 fouls, and the Owls shot 8-of-16 from the free throw line.

• The UH reserves, who got some rare extended playing time after Rice fell behind by as much as 30 late in the game.

Tony Akpan scored six points — the first points of his UH career — including a 3-pointer. Crowd favorite Lance Takaki made two free throws. Paul Jesinskis scored four and got to steal the spotlight for a few minutes after the game when the crowd sang "Happy Birthday" to him (he turns 21 today).

"It was neat," Wallace said. "You got everybody in the game and got the seniors some attention."

The celebration will have to be short-lived. Hawai'i will complete its regular-season with road games at Nevada on Thursday, and then at Fresno State on Saturday.