Posted on: Sunday, January 13, 2002
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Rainbows sitting perfect atop WAC rankings
| • | WAC standings |
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
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| University of Hawai'i guard Carl English puts up a shot over the Southern Methodist defense. The Rainbow Warriors beat the Mustangs to improve to 6-0 in WAC play.
Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser |
Winning is becoming all too natural for the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team.
The Rainbow Warriors won their ninth consecutive game last night with a statement-making 83-74 victory over Southern Methodist.
"I'm glad they don't let cameras in the locker room," senior tri-captain Mindaugas Burneika said. "Everybody's jumping around and dancing butt-naked."
An energetic crowd of 8,060 at the Stan Sheriff Center also danced as the 'Bows improved to 15-2 overall — their best start since the "Fabulous Five" days of 1971-72. More important, Hawai'i remained atop the Western Athletic Conference at 6-0, its first 6-0 start in the conference since joining in 1980.
Because of all that and more, the 'Bows had every reason to celebrate, naked or otherwise.
Last night's game was a battle of the WAC's only remaining unbeaten teams. In the end, the 'Bows stripped SMU of its unblemished conference record by unleashing a barrage of 3-point rainbows.
Hawai'i established a new school record with 14 3-pointers, including five by star guard Predrag Savovic.
"We were getting 3s and hitting them, so you gotta keep shooting them," UH head coach Riley Wallace said. "This team reads the defense and takes what they give you. That's what's good about the offense."
The offense is also about shared distribution.
For the second consecutive game, five Hawai'i players scored in double-figures, led by Savovic's 22. Mike McIntyre added 17, Mindaugas Burneika 16, Carl English 14 and Haim Shimonovich 10.
"It's a team game," said Shimonovich, a 6-foot-10 sophomore center who also finished with team-highs of eight assists and six rebounds. "The guys were getting the ball to me, and when I was open, I shot it. When the defense tried to double-team, I just passed it to somebody else."
Hawai'i converted 14-of-27 3-point shots (52 percent), including an astonishing 9-of-13 in the crucial second half.
Savovic scored 15 in the second half, including four 3-pointers. None was more incredible than the bank shot he drained from the top of the key as he was fouled by SMU's Quinton Ross. He converted the subsequent free throw to give UH a 60-55 lead with 9:46 remaining.
SMU, behind scoring machine Damon Hancock, rallied to take a short-lived 61-60 lead with 7:59 remaining.
Following a timeout, Burneika drained one of his four 3-pointers to put Hawai'i back on top for good at 63-61.
"Somebody had to shoot it in that situation," Burneika said. "I'm glad coach picked me. He said to shoot it if I was open, and I was open."
The shot ignited a 10-2 surge that put Hawai'i ahead 70-63 with five minutes remaining. SMU never got closer than three the rest of the way.
"They obviously didn't want to give us any layups," Wallace said. "I wanted Mindaugas to take a shot in that situation, but it didn't have to be a 3. We knew he'd be open."
SMU head coach Mike Dement said: "We ended up playing man-to-man (defense) to try and prevent the 3. But if we gave just a look, they seemed to hit it."
Picking up where they left off in Thursday's victory over Louisiana Tech, Burneika and McIntyre came off the bench to ignite a first-half rally for the 'Bows. They combined to score eight during a 20-4 run that turned a 15-8 deficit into a 28-19 lead with 7:53 remaining.
Burneika had 10 points at halftime, and McIntyre seven as the 'Bows took a 40-33 lead at intermission.
McIntyre also secured the victory in the final minute when he blocked a shot by Hancock and then made a 12-foot baseline jump shot on the subsequent possession to give UH an insurmountable 80-74 lead with 39 seconds left.
Hancock, the WAC's leading scorer, did not start last night's game for disciplinary reasons after he arrived late for the scheduled departure of the team's bus on Friday. He still played 33 minutes and finished with a game-high 24 points.
Patrick Simpson added 18 points and nine rebounds for the Mustangs, who fell to 9-6 overall and 4-1 in the WAC.
SMU shot 50 percent from the field (27-of-54) and out-rebounded UH, 31-29.
"I thought we played really well," Dement said. "We just got beat by the 3-point shot."
Hawai'i is next scheduled to play another WAC game Saturday at San Jose State.
