Another late call goes against English, 'Bows
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
RUSTON, La. — Well, at least there's no such thing as star treatment in the Western Athletic Conference.
Carl English, the leading scorer in the WAC, was once again involved in a disputed officiating call late in a loss for the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team.
He was called for an offensive foul with 32.7 seconds remaining in a game the Rainbow Warriors would lose, 66-65, to Louisiana Tech in the Thomas Assembly Center last night.
The Bulldogs' winning points came on the ensuing possession when Zach Johnson sank two free throws with 6.2 seconds remaining.
During Hawai'i's five-game road losing streak, three losses have been by two points or fewer. All three involved an officiating call on English in the closing seconds.
This latest version may be the most perplexing when considering that English was not even near the basketball when he was assessed the foul.
"I was on the opposite side of the ball and they called it on me," English said. "You can't call that with 30 seconds in a close game. Let the players decide it."
The call came while UH held a 65-64 lead. UH coach Riley Wallace instructed the 'Bows to run "20-50" — the most basic play in UH's flex-motion offense.
"Our plan was to run the clock down and get a good shot at the end," Wallace said. "Then that foul call came out of nowhere."
Wallace said one of the referees explained that English threw his arms into a LaTech defender in an attempt to push that defender away.
According to Wallace, the 'Bows ran that same play 32 times during last night's game. No offensive fouls were called the previous 31 times.
"I could understand if they were calling us for stuff earlier, but they only called it at the end there," Wallace said.
A month ago in Honolulu, La Tech head coach Keith Richard was the one complaining about the officiating after the Bulldogs' 57-53 loss to the 'Bows. Last night, he said with a chuckle: "It all works out in a wash."
English was also called for a questionable offensive foul in a 65-63 loss at Boise State, and then did not get a foul call his way even though he was bumped while going for a crucial shot in a 56-55 loss at Fresno State.
• SI jinx?: A feature article on English is in the latest issue of Sports Illustrated, which hit news stands yesterday.
The two-page article details the incredible life story of English and his journey from Newfoundland, Canada, to UH.
There is also a sentence that finishes with: he probably will declare for the NBA draft instead of returning to Hawai'i for his final year of eligibility.
English, however, said that is not necessarily true.
"We'll talk about it at the end of the season," he said. "I'm still not sure what's going to happen and I don't want to create any distractions for the team right now."
