Rainbow Warriors make quick exit from NCAAs
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
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| Hawai'i's Predrag Savovic drives under the basket to score against Xavier's David West. Savovic finished with a game-high 26 points. |
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| Hawai'i coach Riley Wallace tries to get the attention of a referee during the second half of the Rainbow Warriors NCAA first-round game with Xavier.
Photos by Paul Buck • Special to the Advertiser |
After a second-half meltdown, the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team once again experienced NCAA Tournament letdown in a 70-58 loss to Xavier.
With that, a season that shouted for attention from the rest of the nation ended quietly. The Rainbow Warriors, ranked No. 25 in the Associated Press Top 25 this week, finished the most successful season in school history with a record of 27-6.
A capacity crowd of 19,951 at the American Airlines Center watched the first- round game of the West Region. What they witnessed was an uncharacteristic self-destruction by the normally composed 'Bows.
With tears welling up in his eyes, senior tri-captain Mindaugas Burneika said simply: "We gave them the game."
Hawai'i is 0-4 in NCAA Tournament games, including first-round exits the last two years. But none of the others were as agonizing as this one.
"It hurts, no question," UH head coach Riley Wallace said. "Not just because we lost, but also because of the way we lost."
Hawai'i led by as many as 12 points in the first half, and took a seemingly controlling 40-33 lead at intermission. But they scored just 18 points in the second half while shooting for a .207 percentage (6-of-29).
"It was amazing," said senior Predrag Savovic. "We were missing 3-pointers, we were missing layups. Nothing was going in."
The amazing part was that it didn't start out that way.
Savovic scored 16 points in the first half on 7-of-13 shooting. He wound up with a game-high 26, but was just 3-of-8 in the second half.
The 'Bows took control of the first half with a 15-6 run that increased a 22-20 lead to 37-26 with 4:06 remaining. Five different UH players contributed during the surge, led by Phil Martin's four points.
"Everything was going smooth," Martin said. "We were making our cuts, getting open looks, and making our shots like we normally do."
Hawai'i shot 49 percent from the field (17-of-35) in the first half, including 5-of-11 from 3-point range. A 3-pointer by Carl English pushed the lead to 40-28 with 3:07 remaining in the half.
"At that point, I think we had (Xavier) scared," Martin said. "You could see the worry in their eyes. We just didn't keep that fear in them."
The 'Bows took a 40-33 lead at halftime, but the 15-minute intermission somehow turned into a Twilight Zone for them.
"I was pretty low key," Xavier head coach Thad Matta said. "I told our players we could have been better (in the first half). We challenged our guys to play harder and smarter or we were on the verge of getting run out of the gym."
Wallace said the momentum swing actually came in the final minute of the first half, when Xavier guard Romain Sato scored five consecutive points, including a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
"So now (Xavier) goes in pumped up to the locker room and we go in and get chewed," Wallace said. "It was a momentum change."
As proof, the Musketeers opened the second half with a 13-1 run to erase the deficit and take a 46-41 lead with 12:13 remaining. In the first eight minutes of the second half, Hawai'i shot 0-for-11 from the field and committed five turnovers.
"It was really weird," Martin said. "We were looking around at each other like, 'What's going on?' "
Martin ended the drought with a 16-foot jump shot that banked into the basket with 11:36 remaining. It was UH's first field goal of the second half.
But Xavier responded with an 8-2 run to take control for good at 54-45 with 7:13 remaining. Hawai'i never got closer than five after that, although the Musketeers made the final margin look larger by sinking 12 of 14 free throws in the final 1:19.
It didn't help that starting center Haim Shimonovich went to the bench with 16:35 remaining in the game after committing his fourth foul. The 6-foot-10 sophomore was held scoreless in 17 minutes, but contributed five rebounds and four blocked shots.
In his absence, the 'Bows attempted a futile rally from long-range. They were just 3-of-13 from 3-point range in the second half.
"We lived on the jump shot tonight, and they just weren't going in," Wallace said. "This team has a tendency to do that — when we get down, we quick-shoot out of the offense."
The most telling statistic, according to Wallace, was Xavier shooting 21-of-24 from the free-throw line compared to Hawai'i's 4-of-6.
"That means (Xavier) was being aggressive and taking us off the dribble," Wallace said. "And we're not being aggressive and relying on outside shots."
Each of the 'Bows seemed to accept their share of the blame.
Savovic said: "(Xavier) started pressuring us harder and we didn't react well. I missed some shots I should have made."
Carl English, who finished with nine points on 4-of-15 shooting, nine rebounds and seven turnovers, said: "I was frustrated. I was doing whatever I could to get us back and I think I was trying too hard. I was going off on my own to try and get us back and it backfired."
Martin, who finished with 11 points and nine rebounds, added: "Their defense was good, but we made too many careless mistakes and gave them the momentum. I missed a couple layups there that could have helped us out, but it just wouldn't go in."
Shimonovich said: "I've been fouling out all year, so I must be doing something wrong. It's something I need to work on for next year."
Burneika, held scoreless for the first time all season on 0-of-5 shooting, added: "We started shooting jump shots every time, including me. We should have worked the ball inside more."
To their credit, the Musketeers transformed into a quick, ball-hawking defense in the second half. Hawai'i committed 12 of its 16 turnovers in the second half, with Xavier collecting eight steals after halftime.
"We really tried to step up our defense in the second half," Xavier forward Kevin Frey said. "That is the best I've seen a team shoot against us in a while. But we put the clamps on them in the second half."
Added Wallace: "They did cover us pretty well and contested just about every shot."
What's more, the Musketeers won the rebounding battle, 40-35, including a 24-18 advantage in the second half.
Xavier improved to 26-5, and advanced to tomorrow's second round, where it will play No. 2 seed Oklahoma. The Musketeers, the Atlantic-10 champions, are the No. 7 seed; Hawai'i was the No. 10 seed.
Sato, a 6-5 sophomore, led the Musketeers with 18 points and also grabbed 10 rebounds. Point guard Lionel Chalmers added 15 points, six assists, six rebounds and five steals. David West, a second-team All-America forward, contributed 13 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
Despite the disappointing ending, Hawai'i still finished with a school-record 27 victories. For the first time, the 'Bows entered the NCAA Tournament as both the regular-season and tournament champions of the Western Athletic Conference.
"We're still happy with this season," Burneika said. "We're just not happy with how it ended."
