Posted on: Wednesday, January 1, 2003
Basketball 'Bows went out with bang
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
The University of Hawai'i men's basketball team didn't need to see a fireworks display last night.
Nothing could have topped the show the Rainbow Warriors put on Monday night in their thrilling 81-78 overtime victory over previously undefeated Butler in the championship game of the Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic.
"I don't know if I've ever been involved in a game like that," UH senior captain Mark Campbell said. "The way both teams battled, the level of basketball that was being played ... and then the finish. It was just incredible."
Indeed, the 'Bows rallied from a 21-point first-half deficit to complete what is believed to be the greatest comeback in UH basketball history (no such records are kept by the school). Perhaps even more impressive, they erased a 15-point deficit in the final four minutes of the game to force overtime.
"There have been some good games in the past for this program, especially in the Rainbow Classic," UH head coach Riley Wallace said. "But I don't know if there's ever been one like this."
Not that the 'Bows had any time to celebrate their second consecutive Rainbow Classic championship (the "Fabulous Five" teams of 1970 and '71 were the only other back-to-back champs).
After basking in the glow of the victory at the Stan Sheriff Center until past midnight, the 'Bows met there again at 5:30 yesterday morning for a flight to El Paso, Texas. Hawai'i will open the Western Athletic Conference season at Texas-El Paso tomorrow.
"We just have to refocus," Wallace said. "The WAC is another season for us. We've shown we can win at home, now we have to go out and do it on the road or everything we did here won't matter."
But even if for one more day, the 'Bows and Butler were worth talking about again yesterday.
"This was the kind of game where you will look back and say, remember Butler?" Campbell said. "Hopefully, we'll be looking back at it as the game that started something special."
In typical UH fashion, there were multiple stars, each shining at a different time.
• Carl English, a 6-foot-5 junior guard, was named Most Outstanding Player of the Rainbow Classic. He scored 21 against Butler, and was the tournament's high scorer with 66 points in three games.
He scored nine during UH's 17-2 run at the end of regulation. He ignited the surge with a running, off-balance shot that bounced high off the rim and then back through the net as he was fouled. Later, he drained a 3-pointer from beyond NBA range as the shot clock expired.
"We focused in and ran the offense right to the end," English said. "We came out with a purpose in the second half."
• Michael Kuebler, a 6-5 junior guard, scored a career-high 29 points, including 25 in the second half and overtime.
He tied the score at 66 with 1:13 remaining in regulation on a baseline drive to the basket. He made the shot, got fouled, and hit the ensuing free throw. In overtime, he made all six of his free throws, including the four clinching points in the final 18 seconds.
"It was a point of emphasis for us that we had to get to the foul line rather than shooting standing jump shots," Wallace said. "We wanted to go inside and penetrate, and that's what Kuebler did."
• Haim Shimonovich, a 6-10 junior center, recorded his second double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
In three Rainbow Classic games, he recorded 38 points, 23 rebounds and 13 assists.
• Nkeruwem "Tony" Akpan, a 6-8 sophomore reserve forward, emerged as a low-post force during the Rainbow Classic.
In three games, he amassed 39 points on 15-of-21 shooting, and 17 rebounds, and joined English on the all-tournament team.
Akpan scored only two points against Butler, but that basket came with 3:42 remaining in overtime and gave UH a 70-69 lead it would not relinquish.
• Campbell, a 6-5 senior point guard, had 22 assists and just four turnovers in the Rainbow Classic.
Wallace also cited Campbell's tenacious defense on Butler point guard Brandon Miller as a key to the disruption of the Bulldogs' offense in the second half.
• Hawai'i's team defense, led by Campbell and junior forward Phil Martin, held Butler without a field goal in the final six minutes of regulation.
For the first time this season, the 'Bows employed a full-court press late in regulation that frustrated the Bulldogs and fueled the rally.
Two defensive plays also saved the game for Hawai'i: Shimonovich's block at the end of regulation, and Jason Carter's strip of the basketball from Miller as time expired in overtime.
"Clean," Carter said of the final play. "And if they called a foul, (Wallace) would have blown his top and I would be dead right now."
• Hawai'i's flex-motion offense never went astray, even when down 21 points.
"No single player is bigger than the team," Campbell said. "We knew if we were going to come back, we had to do it together."
In the end, UH's 81 points were the most scored against Butler in 29 games. The Bulldogs entered the game with the top scoring defense in NCAA Division I, allowing 51 points per game.
• The Stan Sheriff Center crowd of 6,646 was energized throughout the game, even when the 'Bows trailed.
It helped that several Bulldogs incited the crowd's wrath early on by "flopping" and attempting to bait the 'Bows into technical fouls.
"I kept thinking that these (Butler) guys were picking a fight they can't win," Campbell said. "They tested our heart and our character and we showed them."
