Fairfield, Hawai'i reach Rainbow Classic final

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawai'i's Julian Sensley broke away for this dunk against IUPUI in the first half. Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser RAINBOW CLASSIC WHERE: Stan Sheriff Center Saturday Game 1: IUPUI 85, East Tennessee State 81 Game 2: Hawai'i 94, Lamar 88 Sunday Game 3: Fairfield 70, Bowling Green 60 Game 4: Pepperdine 82, American University 69 Yesterday Game 5: East Tennessee State 75, Lamar 62 Game 6: American University 73, Bowling Green 64 Game 7: Fairfield 60, Pepperdine 56 Game 8: Hawai'i 82, IUPUI 64 Today Seventh Place: Lamar vs. Bowling Green, 11:05 a.m. Fifth Place: East Tennessee St. vs. American University, 1:35 p.m. Third Place: Pepperdine vs. IUPUI, 5:05 p.m. Championship: Fairfield vs. Hawai'i, 7:35 p.m. Television: Live on KFVE (night games only). Radio: UH games live on 1420 AM. Ticket Prices: Individual night sessions: $16 lower level, single seats only; $12 upper level. Individual day sessions: $5 general admission. Parking: $3

The Rainbow Warriors did just that in an impressive 82-64 victory over IUPUI in the semifinals of the Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic.

A crowd of 5,130 at the Stan Sheriff Center watched the 'Bows improve to 7-2 with their fifth consecutive victory.

The win put Hawai'i in the championship game of the tournament for the fifth consecutive year. The 'Bows, who are seeking an unprecedented third consecutive Rainbow Classic title, will play Fairfield at 7:35 tonight.

"I think we played probably one of our best games of the year," Hawai'i head coach Riley Wallace said. "We were very patient tonight. We moved the ball, we made the extra pass."

Senior guard Michael Kuebler was the primary recipient, tallying 26 points on an efficient 9 of 12 shooting, including a career-best seven 3-pointers in nine attempts.

"They were playing zone most of the game, so guys were able to find me and I was able to knock it down," said Kuebler, who has scored 83 points in UH's last three games.

On a night when the 'Bows matched their season-high with 25 assists, several other players assisted in the victory.

Forward Phil Martin had 18 points and six rebounds, and defensively harassed IUPUI 3-point specialist Akeem Clark into 4 of 14 shooting.

"We played great defense," Martin said. "When we dig down on defense and help each other out, we can control a game pretty well."

Forward Julian Sensley was once again a triple threat, finishing with 15 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.

He electrified the crowd early with a breakaway slam dunk that put Hawai'i ahead, 15-14. Moments later, he scored six points during a 14-0 UH surge that increased the lead to 32-17 with 6:27 remaining in the first half. Hawai'i never lost the lead the rest of the way.

"The first couple of times, they were just letting me shoot," Sensley said. "And then I was able to find gaps in their defense."

Point guard Logan Lee scored seven points and dished out a career-high 10 assists while committing only two turnovers.

"By far his best game," Wallace said of Lee.

Center Haim Shimonovich scored eight and grabbed 13 rebounds, leading Hawai'i to a 36-30 advantage on the boards.

While UH's starting frontline of Shimonovich, Sensley and Martin measures 6 feet 10, 6-9 and 6-8, respectively, the Jaguars did not start a player taller than 6-6.

"I think that was a big factor," Martin said. "We took advantage of our size."

To compensate for the height difference, IUPUI played a zone defense for most of the game. It would ultimately be a futile effort as the 'Bows drained a season-high 10 3-pointers in 19 attempts (52.6 percent).

"You have Kuebler knocking down everything he throws up, and if he does miss, Phil and Julian were there to get the rebound," Lee said. "This whole year, everybody's been saying zone is our weakness, but we've been playing through it, and it's no thing now."

Kuebler was on target from the start. He made all five of his shots in the first half, including 4 of 4 from 3-point range. The 'Bows took a 40-32 lead at intermission, and Kuebler (14), Sensley (10) and Martin (8) combined for 32 points.

The Jaguars got as close as four early in the second half, but the 'Bows clinched the game with a 14-5 run that pushed the lead to 76-61 with 2:57 remaining.

IUPUI suffered a significant loss with 11:51 remaining in the game when its top player, Odell Bradley, had to leave with a sprained right ankle.

Bradley, a 6-4, 240-pound forward, was leading the Jaguars with 23.2 points and 9.3 rebounds per game prior to last night. He finished with 10 points and four rebounds.

"He's the nucleus of their team," said Sensley, who defended Bradley for most of the game. "But I think I frustrated him by getting in front of him a lot."

When Bradley left the game, the Jaguars trailed 57-50. They never got closer than six the rest of the way.

IUPUI head coach Ron Hunter said the injury did not affect the outcome of the game.

"This was the worst game we played all year," he said. "Mentally we just were not there."

Hawai'i guard Michael Kuebler is closely guarded by IUPUI defenders during the first half of their semifinal game of the Rainbow Classic.

IUPUI, which dropped to 6-4, will play Pepperdine for third place at 5:05 p.m. Bradley's status for today's game was still unclear after last night's game.

Tonight, the 'Bows will play a much bigger Fairfield team that features 6-9 forward Deng Gai, the nation's leading shot blocker, and 6-11 center Rom Thomson.

"This is where we wanted to be," Kuebler said. "We're the host of this tournament and we're trying to make history with a three-peat."

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8101.