Rainbow Warriors roll past Fresno State
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
The University of Hawai'i men's basketball team defeated rival Fresno State for the fourth consecutive time tonight, 88-77.
With the victory, the Rainbow Warriors improved to 11-2 overall and tied the Bulldogs for first place in the Western Athletic Conference at 4-1. A crowd of 7,891 at the Stan Sheriff Center watched Hawai'i's 22nd consecutive home victory, four short of the school record.
Fresno State dropped to 11-3 overall and 4-1 in the WAC.
Carl English (30) and Michael Kuebler (29) combined for 59 points and 10 of the team's 11 3-pointers to lead the 'Bows. Nkeruwem "Tony" Akpan came off the bench to contribute 10 points and six rebounds.
Hawai'i shot 58.3 percent from the field, including 57.9 percent (11 of 19) from 3-point range. Kuebler was 6 of 10 on 3-pointers, and English was 4 of 6.
Kuebler had 21 points in the first half alone, including 6 of 9 shooting from 3-point range. He hit three 3's during a 90-second span early in the game to help UH forge a 14-9 lead.
The Bulldogs, who shot 56.5 percent from the field in the first half, managed to tie the score at 25 with 5:04 remaining in the half before Kuebler went on another shooting flurry.
He made three more 3-pointers in the final 2:47 of the half to highlight a 17-10 surge that gave the 'Bows a 42-35 lead at intermission. His sixth 3-pointer of the half came just before the halftime buzzer sounded.
Kuebler then scored UH's first four points of the second half, and English added a 3-pointer to increase the lead to 49-38.
The Bulldogs cut the UH lead to 50-46 with 15:42 remaining behind the shooting of Damon Jackson, but that was as close as it would get.
• English honored: Prior to tonight's game, Carl English was named the Western Athletic Conference Player of the Week.
English, a 6-5 junior guard, recorded 44 points and 19 rebounds to lead the 'Bows in victories over Southern Methodist and Louisiana Tech last week.
It was the second time in his career that English received the honor (he was named WAC Player of the Week on March 4 of last season). He is also the first UH player to receive the award this season.
