Bulldogs top 'Bows, 56-55

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

FRESNO, Calif. — The earring will have to wait.

Fresno State's Jonathan Woods soars to challenge a shot attempt by Hawai'i's Nkeruwem "Tony" Akpan during the second half in Fresno, Calif. Associated Press

The Rainbow Warriors came up agonizingly short in a 56-55 loss to Fresno State yesterday before 10,220 at sold-out Selland Arena.

FSU's Damon Jackson made a layup with 10.7 seconds remaining to provide the final margin. Carl English's 17-foot jump shot then bounced off the front of the rim with two seconds remaining, ending a furious battle between the top two teams in the Western Athletic Conference.

The Bulldogs improved to 14-3 overall with their 11th consecutive home victory. More important, they remained alone atop the WAC at 7-1.

Hawai'i, which beat Fresno State last Monday at the Stan Sheriff Center, dropped to 11-4 overall and to third place in the WAC at 4-3. The 'Bows are now 1-4 on the road this season.

"It was a must-win for us, so we're disappointed about that," UH head coach Riley Wallace said. "But I'm proud of the way our guys played. We stunk it up in (a loss at San Jose State last Saturday). I thought we came back and played hard and had a chance to win in a very tough place."

Wallace promised his players that he would get his ear pierced and wear a diamond earring if they beat Fresno State.

The 'Bows almost made him do it. Hawai'i controlled most of the game, and held a 46-39 lead with less than six minutes to play.

"We had them where we wanted them," English said. "We just didn't finish the game."

English finished with a game-high 19 points, although he shot just 6-of-18 from the field, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range. Point guard Mark Campbell contributed 11 points, including 3-of-3 shooting from 3-point range in the second half.

The 'Bows out-rebounded the Bulldogs, 33-25, led by Haim Shimonovich's nine boards. Hawai'i also shot 18-of-25 from the free-throw line, while Fresno State was just 3-of-3.

"We played a good enough game to win," English said. "But you have to give some credit to (Fresno State). They hit some big shots down the end to win it. It wasn't like we just rolled over and let them win."

The Bulldogs had their own motivation. Prior to last night, Hawai'i had won the last four games against Fresno State, including the 88-77 victory last week.

"We felt like we had something to prove," Jackson said. "We knew we couldn't let them get us again. Not here."

The Bulldogs defended their homecourt with a menacing man-to-man defense that limited Hawai'i to 35.7 percent shooting (15-of-42) and forced 16 UH turnovers. The Bulldogs normally rely on a zone defense, but never went to that last night.

In Honolulu last week, UH guard Michael Kuebler shot over the Fresno State zone for 29 points and six 3-pointers. Last night, he was limited to eight points and 0-of-1 shooting from 3-point range.

"They were real intense on defense," Kuebler said. "They took away some of our shots, but we were still able to run our offense. We just didn't run it the way we're supposed to those last couple minutes."

Hawai'i led by as many as 22-14 in the first half before settling for a 25-24 advantage at intermission.

Despite shooting only 33.3 percent (10-of-30) in the first half, the Bulldogs maintained their defensive intensity. That, according to head coach Ray Lopes, was the key.

"We focused on (English) and Kuebler a lot harder," Lopes said. "We talked about making them take hard shots and not letting them beat us off the dribble."

English had averaged 28.3 points per game in the last three meetings with Fresno State, but he was just 2-of-9 from the field in the second half last night. As a team, the 'Bows shot 31.8 percent in the second half (7-of-22).

"We felt like the pace of the game was in our favor," Kuebler said. "We were missing some shots, but we were still in it the whole way."

The Bulldogs led by as much as 39-34 midway through the second half, but UH responded with a 12-0 run to take a 46-39 lead with 5:54 remaining. Fresno State caught the 'Bows again behind the better-late-than-never shooting of Jackson.

Jackson, FSU's leading scorer, made his first basket of the game — a 3-pointer — with 4:19 remaining to tie the score at 46. He scored all 11 of his points in the final 4:19.

"My teammates were screening for me and getting me the ball," Jackson said. "They didn't care if I was 0-for-6."

Most of his points came against a rarely used zone defense by Hawai'i. In the second half, the 'Bows alternated between man-to-man and zone defenses.

"That was great coaching by Riley Wallace," Lopes said. "Because we struggled a little bit against that zone until Damon (Jackson) started making those big shots."

However, Jackson's winning basket came on a broken play after his own missed shot.

Trailing 55-54, Jackson missed a wide-open 17-foot jump shot. Noel Felix tipped the rebound up in the air, and teammate Hiram Fuller grabbed it. He found Jackson cutting toward the basket for the game-winning layup.

"I was actually going in to try and crash the boards (for a rebound)," Jackson said. "I was just cutting (to the basket) off instinct."

It was Fresno State's eighth victory by three points or fewer this season. Jackson, a 6-foot-4 senior, has made the game-winning shot in four of those games.

"Hiram (Fuller) got that rebound and he could have put it back up," Jackson said. "But he opened his eyes and saw me cut to the basket. So I'm not going to accept this as a game-winner. I'm going to pass this one to Hiram."

On UH's final possession, English was isolated one-on-one with Fresno State's Renaldo Major at the top of the key. English went to his left and then put up a jump shot with Major's hand in his face. The ball bounced off the rim and was batted away as the final buzzer sounded.

"I thought I had a good look," English said. "I thought I had (Major). It just came up short."

Major, a 6-7 forward, came off the bench to score a team-high 14 points for the Bulldogs.