Warriors rebound with 88-79 victory over Rice

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

HOUSTON — The University of Hawai'i men's basketball team is just fine, thank you.

Rice center T.J. McKenzie has his drive rejected by Hawai'i center Haim Shimonovic. Associated Press

A sparse crowd of 1,835 at Autry Court watched Hawai'i improve to 16-3 overall, and maintain sole possession of first place in the Western Athletic Conference at 7-1. Only the 1981-82 UH team had a better conference start at 8-1.

"It was a must win," UH head coach Riley Wallace said. "If we were going to establish that we were in the hunt for the WAC (championship), we had to have this one because we let our last one get away. There were some people questioning whether we were for real or not after that."

Hawai'i was coming off a stunning 57-53 loss at last-place San Jose State last Saturday. But after spending the last five days in Houston, the 'Bows found their comfort zone against Rice's 2-3 defensive zone last night.

"Because we were here so long, we probably put more time into preparing for this game than any other road game before," Wallace said. "And this team has character. They took the loss at San Jose hard, but they didn't get down on themselves. They showed the kind of team they really are."

In particular, senior guard Mike McIntyre returned to form by scoring 20 points, including 4-of-7 shooting from 3-point range.

"Some nights you shoot it, some nights you don't," McIntyre said. "When you're on, you have to take advantage of it, and that's all I did."

Against San Jose State, McIntyre had one of the worst performances of his career with zero points on 0-of-4 shooting.

"I wanted to make up for last game," he said. "But it wasn't like I was going out of my way to take shots. I was open, so I took the shots I normally take."

He wasn't the only one. Only three players attempted 3-pointers for the 'Bows last night: McIntyre, Predrag Savovic and Carl English. They combined to go 10-of-18 from beyond the arc.

"If you look at the stat sheet, the guys who normally shoot from the outside were the guys that hurt us," Rice head coach Willis Wilson said. "We just didn't defend the way we're supposed to."

Savovic finished with a team-high 21 points, including 3-of-6 shooting from 3-point range. English was 3-of-5 from 3-point range and finished with 17 points and team-highs of seven rebounds and six assists.

"We have to shoot the ball from the outside to be good, obviously," Wallace said. "And tonight, everybody shot the ball with confidence."

English got it rolling with 14 points in the first half. He scored five during a 10-3 surge that put UH ahead, 31-24. The 'Bows took a 38-31 advantage into intermission.

"I hit my first couple shots and felt good after that," English said. "At halftime, we talked about stepping it up and getting everybody involved."

Rice made it difficult until a sharp tongue on a sharpshooter backfired. A 3-pointer by Brock Gillespie tied the game, 48-48, with 12:29 remaining. Gillespie, a seldom-used freshman reserve guard, was the only Owl who could match the 'Bows from long-range. He finished with 14 points, including four 3-pointers.

However, after making that game-tying 3, he turned to McIntyre and said "in your face."

"I was like, 'who the heck are you?' " McIntyre said. "That really fired me up."

McIntyre responded with 11 consecutive points by himself during a 1 minute, 29 second blitz that all but sealed the game for Hawai'i. McIntyre scored on a layup, and then three 3-pointers from the corner just in front of the UH bench during his solo act.

Breaking away

It was part of a 17-0 UH run that took less than three minutes, and turned the 48-48 tie into an insurmountable 65-48 lead for the 'Bows.

"Mike has the green light whenever he's open," Wallace said. "When he's hot, he's as good as anybody in the country. He knows that's his role and the guys know to look for him when he's hot."

Through it all, the Owls never abandoned their 2-3 defensive zone in the second half. As a result, McIntyre, Savovic and English combined to shoot 6-of-10 from 3-point range after halftime.

Zoned in

"We were prepared for anything," Savovic said. "But against a zone, we get better looks (at the basket). It was just a matter of taking good shots and making them."

Rice never got closer than eight in the game's final nine minutes. Savovic and point guard Mark Campbell combined to make 11 of 12 free throws in the final 1:04 to seal the victory.

Rice freshman forward Michael Harris was spectacular in defeat, finishing with 21 points and 13 rebounds. However, he admitted that the McIntyre-led 'Bow blitz took away the Owls' hopes for an upset.

"Our momentum was getting up, and then McIntyre hit those 3s," Harris said. "We have a habit of getting down on ourselves when somebody from the other team makes a good play."

Rice out-rebounded Hawai'i, 41-34, but shot just 38 percent from the field (23-of-61), including 30 percent from 3-point range (6-of-20).

Forward Phil Martin added 10 points and five rebounds for UH, and center Haim Shimonovich contributed six points, five assists and four rebounds.

"We went inside and out," Wallace said. "Everybody touched the ball, so it was a good team effort."

The 'Bows will likely need an even greater effort tomorrow when they continue on the road for a first-place showdown at Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane, which defeated San Jose State last night, is 6-1 in the WAC.

"We needed this one to get our momentum back for Tulsa," Wallace said. "We'll have to be at our very best for that one."