Rainbow Warriors hold off Tulsa in OT, 73-67

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

Another "White-Out," another white-knuckle finish.

Hawai'i's Haim Shimonovich, left, and Phil Martin, right, fight Tulsa's Kevin Johnson for a rebound in the first half. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

An energized "White-Out" crowd of 9,229 at the Stan Sheriff watched the Rainbow Warriors win their 24th consecutive home game. It was the largest crowd of the season, and most of the fans dressed in white shirts and waved white balloons, creating what UH head coach Riley Wallace described as "an awesome looking thing."

What they saw was another awesome game between the defending co-champions of the Western Athletic Conference.

Carl English once again played the hero's role, scoring 28 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer in overtime.

"Another typical Tulsa-Hawai'i go-at-it ball game," Wallace said.

It has also become typical for Hawai'i to emerge victorious in the series. It was UH's fifth consecutive victory over the Golden Hurricane.

The 'Bows improved to 13-5 overall and climbed to third place in the WAC at 6-4. Tulsa, the preseason pick to win the conference, dropped to 11-7 overall and 4-5 in the WAC.

"It was a typical Hawai'i-Tulsa game in the fact that both teams were trying tremendously hard to get a win," Tulsa head coach John Phillips said. "Our team fought back and played extremely hard in the second half, it just wasn't good enough."

English made sure of it. He solidified his reputation as the Tulsa tormentor by draining a career-best eight 3-pointers. He shot 9-of-20 overall, including 8-of-14 from 3-point range.

In the five consecutive UH victories over Tulsa, the 6-foot-5 junior is averaging 20.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.

"The good thing about it is he's not just doing it against us anymore," Phillips said. "All year I've watched tape on him and he's by far one of the best players in the country."

He had help from the UH big men, who came up big for the second consecutive game.

Haim Shimonovich, a 6-10 center, posted a double-double for the second time in three nights with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Phil Martin, a 6-8 forward, contributed 16 points and six rebounds and was credited with the game-saving defense in overtime.

"The winning effort was a team effort," Wallace said. "But down the stretch, it was Phil Martin's defense on (Kevin) Johnson."

Johnson, Tulsa's All-WAC 6-8 forward, helped rally the Golden Hurricane in the second half, but was held scoreless by Martin in overtime.

In a tale of two halves, Hawai'i scored 40 points in the first half and led by as many as 15, then shot 36.4 percent while scoring just 20 in the second half.

English had 15 points on 5-of-9

3-point shooting in the first half to lead the 'Bows to a 40-28 halftime lead.

That was quickly erased when Tulsa went on a 14-2 run in the first five minutes of the second half to tie the game and create a see-saw battle the rest of the way.

Tulsa's first lead of the game came at 46-45 with 12:24 remaining. Hawai'i then seemed to take control at 56-50 on a 3-pointer by Michael Kuebler with 4:02 left.

But Johnson scored six points during an 8-2 Tulsa run that tied the game at 58.

Martin's baseline jump shot with 1:06 remaining put UH up, 60-58, but Tulsa forced overtime when Jason Parker scored on a driving lay-up with 19.7 seconds remaining.

"Overtime is just like it gives you a second breath," said English, who played all 45 minutes. "You remember your mistakes and it's like a learning experience."

His 3-pointer with 2:51 remaining in overtime broke a 62-62 tie and gave Hawai'i a lead it would not relinquish.

Parker led Tulsa with 22 points, while Johnson added 16 points and 11 rebounds. Tulsa played almost the entire second half and overtime without its top shooter, Dante Swanson, who aggravated a foot injury.

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