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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, March 7, 2003

Rainbow Warriors slip past Boise State, 68-65

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

Thanks mostly to Phil Martin's clutch plays in the closing minutes, the University of Hawai'i men's basketball took a thrilling 68-65 victory over Boise State last night.

Hawai'i's Phil Martin rises above Boise State's Jason Ellis for a first-half shot. Martin scored 18 points and blocked a potential game-tying shot with four seconds left in UH's 68-65 victory.

Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

Martin scored six of his game-high 18 points in the final 3 minutes, 16 seconds, and then blocked a potential game-tying shot in the closing seconds to lead the Rainbow Warriors.

A crowd of 4,620 at the Stan Sheriff Center watched the 'Bows improve to 16-10 overall and 8-9 in the Western Athletic Conference. Boise State dropped to 12-15 and 6-11.

With one regular-season game remaining — tomorrow against Texas-El Paso — Hawai'i can finish as high as the No. 5 seed for next week's WAC Tournament at Tulsa, Okla. The 'Bows will be seeded either No. 5 or 6 for the nine-team tournament.

"It was a big win," said Martin, a 6-foot-8 junior forward. "We need to get some momentum going into the (WAC) tournament, so it was important to pull this one out."

With starting center Haim Shimonovich unavailable because of a sprained right ankle, Martin and Nkeruwem "Tony" Akpan combined for 33 points on 14-of-19 shooting in the low post.

"It was high-percentage basketball to try to win close ball games," UH head coach Riley Wallace said of the strategy.

Martin played the most important role.

With a bandage covering a gash over his left eye, Martin outscored the Broncos 6-2 during a two-minute stretch late in the game.

"I was ready to go; I was feeling intense," he said.

His two free throws with 1:43 remaining broke a 62-62 tie and put Hawai'i ahead for good. He then scored on a difficult reverse layup between two defenders to push the lead to 66-62.

Boise State got as close as 66-65, but Mark Campbell made two free throws with 25.8 seconds remaining to make it 68-65.

Boise State's Aaron Haynes attempted a 3-pointer with four seconds remaining, but Martin blocked it. Haynes managed to gather the loose ball, but another desperation 3-point attempt came up short.

"I saw he was open for the shot," Martin said. "It was do or die. I just ran out there and got my hand up and got my hand on the ball."

During a timeout prior to the final Boise State possession, Wallace instructed his players not to foul. Martin, regarded as UH's best defender, said he was confident going after the block.

"At times, you don't think about stuff like that, you just go out and do it," he said. "I knew we weren't supposed to foul, but I knew it was going to be a clean block."

Martin also grabbed six rebounds and made a key steal when UH had a 64-62 lead.

"Phil plays good defense all the time," Wallace said.

Akpan's performance was more of a surprise, especially considering that he wasn't told he would be starting in place of Shimonovich until a few minutes before the game.

He finished with 15 points on 6-of-6 shooting, and a career-high five assists.

"Our offense doesn't work unless our big men can pass the basketball and get assists," Wallace said.

Campbell also had five assists in addition to six points. He also had four of UH's season-high 13 steals and played the entire 40 minutes.

The UH offense was especially effective in the second half. The 'Bows shot 51.9 percent from the field overall (27 of 52), including 60.9 percent in the second half (14 of 23).

"They're bigger and stronger and more physical," Boise State head coach Greg Graham said of the 'Bows. "And we had trouble with it down the stretch."

Eleven of Hawai'i's 14 second-half baskets came off assists.

"I wasn't feeling it tonight, but everybody was getting involved," Carl English said. "We were passing it well; everybody was playing hard."

English, who was tied for the WAC scoring lead at 19.6 points per game prior to last night's contest, finished with 14 points on 5-of-14 shooting. He also grabbed a team-high nine rebounds and had two assists.

Wallace credited "Riley's runts" with perhaps the biggest assist of the game.

Martin and Akpan both sat on the bench for the final five minutes of the first half with two fouls each. Milos Zivanovic, the only low-post substitute available, also was on the bench with two fouls.

English joined them on the sideline for the final two minutes after he picked up his third foul of the first half.

UH played those final two minutes with four guards — starters Campbell and Michael Kuebler, and reserves Jason Carter and Ryne Holliday — and 6-foot-6 Vaidotas Peciukas at center.

"We were in what could have been a panic situation," Wallace said. "We brought in Riley's runts and they brought in energy and I think that energy carried over to the big guys in the second half."

The runts kept the game close at the end of the first half, and Boise State took a 35-34 lead at intermission.

With the starting lineup back on the court in the second half, Hawai'i shot 9 of 11 from the field during a 19-8 run to take a 53-43 lead with 13:21 remaining. Akpan scored eight points on 4-of-4 shooting during the surge.

Toward the end of that run, Martin collided with Haynes, opening a cut over Martin's eye. He had to get the cut stitched after the game.

Boise State caught the 'Bows with a 9-0 run that tied the score at 60 with 3:28 remaining.

That set the stage for Martin's heroics.

"Haim was out so somebody had to step up in his place," Martin said. "Tony did a great job starting for Haim and I just was trying to do what I could to help the team win."

Boise State did not help its cause with 21 turnovers and several missed layups.

"Too many turnovers tonight," Graham said. "Several of them were on the fast break, which cost us some good opportunities."

Jason Ellis had 15 points and a game-high 14 rebounds to lead Boise State to a 34-25 advantage on the boards. Haynes added 15 points and nine rebounds.

Hawai'i will play its final regular-season home game tomorrow against UTEP. Seniors Campbell, Holliday and Lance Takaki will be honored after the game.