UH, SMU will match WAC's top 2 scorers

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

Where will the higher scores come from, Q School or English class?

Fans can keep track for themselves tonight when the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team hosts Southern Methodist in a Western Athletic Conference game.

Tip-off is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at the Stan Sheriff Center, where UH has won 19 consecutive games.

The game will feature the top two scorers in the WAC. SMU's Quinton Ross, a 6-foot-6 senior guard known to teammates as Q, leads the conference with 19.6 points per game. UH's English, a 6-5 junior guard, is second at 19.2.

"It's the top two guys in the WAC right now, so everybody's going to be looking at us," English said. "I'm taking it as a challenge, but no more so than any other game. I just want to get the win, that's the main thing."

Ross and English were both picked to the Preseason All-WAC first team. In the various national preseason publications, they were the only two players mentioned as WAC Player of the Year candidates.

"Ross is very quick and he can shoot it," UH head coach Riley Wallace said. "He's given us problems over the years, so we're aware of what he's capable of."

Indeed, Ross is averaging 17.3 points and 4.3 rebounds in his last four meetings with UH, dating to his sophomore season. In those same four games, English is averaging 12.0 points and 6.5 rebounds, although he was not a starter two seasons ago as a freshman.

However, SMU head coach Mike Dement said Ross' statistics are deceiving. In particular, Ross has not shot the ball well from the field lately.

In SMU's last seven games, Ross is shooting only 36 percent from the field (33-of-92), including a dismal 13 percent from 3-point range (4-of-31). The Mustangs are 3-4 in those games.

"We need Quinton to shoot the ball a lot better," Dement said. "Actually, we need him to get as hot as English."

English leads all WAC players with 29 3-pointers and is third with a .420 percentage from long range.

However, English and Ross may not even defend each other tonight, and both coaches said the game will be decided by other factors.

After struggling defensively in a 65-63 overtime loss at Boise State last Saturday, the 'Bows have focused on new schemes during practices this week. Wallace said it has resulted in some of the team's best practices of the year.

"I think we got rested and now we're fired up," Wallace said. "There's no question we were a tired team (at Boise State). But we're back at home now and it looks like we've got our energy back."

They will need it against an athletic SMU team that likes to play an up-tempo style.

"They have super quickness," Wallace said. "And they'll throw all kinds of different looks at you. They're tough to prepare for."

SMU is going through its own road woes. Last Saturday, the Mustangs lost their WAC opener, 89-77, at Louisiana Tech. It was the start of a stretch that has SMU playing five of its first seven WAC games on the road.

What's more SMU is the only team that will have to travel to Louisiana Tech and Hawai'i back-to-back. Ruston, La., and Honolulu represent the geographical extremes of the conference.

"We've known our schedule all along," Dement said. "But now it's a reality, and we have to deal with it."

Making matters worse, the Mustangs are 0-6 on the road this season, although two of the losses were to ranked teams (Texas Tech and Wake Forest).

In an effort to break the streak, the Mustangs arrived in Honolulu on Tuesday, and Dement allowed them to "enjoy Waikiki" yesterday.

"We needed the rest," Dement said. "I wanted them to have at least one day to enjoy the beautiful weather."

• Injury report: SMU's Justin Isham, a 6-5 sophomore guard, has a sprained right (shooting) wrist and is questionable for tonight's game.

He is averaging 8.9 points and 3.7 rebounds per game, and was projected to start if healthy. He injured his wrist in the first half at Louisiana Tech last Saturday.

Also, Nigel Smith, a 6-10 reserve center, did not make the trip because of a sinus condition.

For Hawai'i, Nkeruwem "Tony" Akpan, a 6-8 sophomore reserve forward, has a sprained left thumb, but is still expected to play tonight.

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