honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, January 12, 2003

'Bows hold off La. Tech

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

The sour taste left with Louisiana Tech last night came mostly from some Canadian flavor.

Louisiana Tech's Bruce Edwards attempts to block a shot by Hawai'i's Carl English in the second half.

Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

Led by its Canadians, Carl English and Phil Martin, the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team defeated the Bulldogs, 57-53, in a Western Athletic Conference game.

A crowd of 6,348 at the Stan Sheriff Center watched the 'Bows win their 21st consecutive home game — the seventh longest current streak in NCAA Division I and five shy of the school record. Hawai'i also improved to 10-2 overall and moved into sole possession of second place in the WAC at 3-1. The Bulldogs dropped to 5-5 overall and 2-1 in the WAC.

"A win's a win, and we're getting better," UH head coach Riley Wallace said. "When you can win against a good team like that ... that's a sign this team is really growing."

The 'Bows won despite shooting only 39.1 percent from the field (18-of-46) and 20 percent from 3-point range (3-of-15).

Instead, Hawai'i relied on a tenacious defense and a combined 44 points and 17 rebounds from English and Martin.

Martin, a 6-foot-8 junior forward, took care of the first half with 14 of his 19 points before intermission. English, a 6-5 junior guard, took over the second with 21 of his game-high 25 points in the final 20 minutes.

"Our offense wasn't there, except for (Martin)," English said. "But we found ways to keep it going, that's the main thing. That shows we can figure out ways to win when everything's not working."

Very little was working for the 'Bows in the opening minutes when they fell behind, 16-9.

Antonio Meeking — Louisiana Tech's 6-8, 265-pound forward — proved his worth early with eight points in the first nine minutes of the game. Meanwhile, Hawai'i made only three of its first 16 field-goal attempts of the game in the opening 14 minutes.

That's when Martin took control, rallying the 'Bows virtually by himself. He scored all the points during an 11-5 surge that turned a 16-13 deficit into a 24-21 advantage for Hawai'i at halftime.

"Something had to be done on the court," Martin said. "Somebody had to make some shots."

Martin finished the first half with 14 points on 6 of 9 shooting. The rest of the 'Bows combined to shoot 2 of 14 in the first half.

"He carried us," Wallace said. "Defense kept us in the game and then he picked us up and got us the lead."

The 'Bows never relinquished the lead in the second half, thanks mostly to English.

He had just four points in the first half on 1-of-8 shooting, but refused to let it affect him in the second half.

"That's a scorer's mentality," English said. "I had confidence that every shot was going in sooner or later."

Hawai'i's Phil Martin takes a shot over Louisiana Tech's Antonio Meeking during the first half. Martin sparked UH with 14 first-half points.

Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

He finished 6 of 20 from the field, including 3 of 12 from 3-point range, and 10 of 13 from the free-throw line.

"He has to shoot it every time he's open," Wallace said. "He'll get (his shot) back."

What's more, English tied his career-high with 12 rebounds, giving him his second statistical double-double of the season.

"We were going up against a big team," English said. "Haim (Shimonovich) and Phil were going up against big, strong guys, so I took it personal to beat my guy to the boards."

English scored nine points during an 11-5 surge that pushed the UH lead to 44-37 with 11:27 remaining in the game.

The 'Bows never lost the lead, although Louisiana Tech kept it close throughout.

The Bulldogs got as close as 52-51 on a three-point play by Meeking with 3:28 remaining, but English scored the next three points to put UH up, 55-51, with 1:03 left.

Meeking's two free throws with 42.4 seconds remaining made it 55-53.

On the ensuing possession, the 'Bows ran the 35-second shot clock down to the final ticks before a driving Michael Kuebler found Shimonovich alone under the rim for the victory-securing final basket with 6.9 seconds remaining.

"We called something else, but it didn't work," Wallace said. "That's where these guys are good. (Shimonovich) moved without the ball and made the play."

The 'Bows also made plays on defense, limiting the Bulldogs to 32.8 percent shooting (22-of-67), including 23.5 percent from 3-point range.

Meeking, defended primarily by Martin, finished with 23 points and 12 rebounds. However, he shot just 9 of 21 from the field.

"I wanted to make him work for his points," Martin said. "He shot 21 times, so I figure I held him to a sufficient amount of points."

Shimonovich contributed eight points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots, and point guard Mark Campbell had eight assists.

Louisiana Tech head coach Keith Richard said "it was too much English in the second half," but was also critical of the officiating.

Hawai'i was called for 15 fouls and shot 18 of 27 from the free-throw line. In contrast, the Bulldogs were assessed 22 fouls and were just 5 of 10 on free throws.

English alone (10 of 13) made as many free throws as the Bulldogs attempted.

"I think they got away with a lot of fouls that should have been called," Meeking said. "I personally feel like I should have shot at least six or eight more free throws. That's just how it goes sometimes on the road."

Richard, who argued several calls vehemently but was not assessed any technical fouls, said: "I'm going to turn these three officials' names in to the WAC office on Monday morning and try to get them banned. They don't belong in the WAC."

The 'Bows will have their own business to take care of tomorrow. They will host Fresno State in a showdown for first place in the conference. The Bulldogs won last night and are the only undefeated team in WAC play.

UH guard Jason Carter, normally a sparkplug off the bench, did not play last night. Wallace said "I just didn't think the (flow of) the game was right for him."

• • •