Rainbow Warriors edge Rice to gain semifinal against Tulsa

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

TULSA, Okla. — One guy can make a big difference.

Hawai'i's Nkeruwem "Tony" Akpan has firm control of the ball as he's challenged by Rice's Yamar Diene. Akpan had 11 points in UH's 62-61 overtime victory. Associated Press

The Hawai'i men's basketball team proved both with a stirring 62-61 overtime victory over Rice in the quarterfinals of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament last night at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.

Carl English converted two free throws with 4.9 seconds remaining in overtime to break a 60-60 tie and provide what amounted to the game-winning points.

Rice's Omar-Seli Mance had a chance to tie the score with 1.8 seconds remaining, but he made only one of two free throws.

"It's not like we're joyous," UH head coach Riley Wallace said. "We won a ball game, don't forget that. But we felt like we could have played a better game."

The Rainbow Warriors, who improved to 18-10, will need to play a better game in tonight's semifinals when they meet the host team, Tulsa, at 4:30 p.m. (Hawai'i time). The Golden Hurricane routed Texas-El Paso, 81-47, in another quarterfinal game last night.

"When it comes to postseason, it doesn't matter how you do it, you just have to win," UH senior captain Mark Campbell said. "We did that, now we can get ready for Tulsa."

"We played with all of our heart tonight and our guys really gutted this one out," Wallace said.

The best example of that may have been Shimonovich, who played for the first time since spraining his right ankle in a game at Tulsa Feb. 27.

He had just five points and two rebounds in 23 minutes, but his 6-foot-10, 265-pound body provided a much-needed anchor for UH's defense. Shimonovich said his ankle "was still hurting, but it was a big game, so I had to go in and play."

"I didn't expect to even score as many points as I did," he added. "I just wanted to play defense and help the team win."

The Hawai'i defense was certainly a key, limiting Rice to 41.8 percent shooting while forcing 22 turnovers. It was the most turnovers committed by a Hawai'i opponent this season.

All week long, Wallace was concerned about his team's defense, and had prepared several different schemes for the Owls. Ultimately, he didn't need any of them.

Carl English scored six points during a 13-5 surge that put Hawai'i ahead, 47-38 with 7:41 remaining. Advertiser library photo • Sept. 26, 2002

The three big guys were Shimonovich, Phil Martin and Nkeruwem "Tony" Akpan.

Martin, who has played his three best games of this season against Rice, finished with team-highs of 21 points and 14 rebounds. He also had five of Hawai'i's nine steals.

"I knew those (Rice) guys were going to try and play a physical game," said Martin, a 6-8 junior forward. "So I just wanted to try and get around them with my quickness."

Akpan, a 6-8 sophomore who started in place of Shimonovich for the third consecutive game, contributed 11 points and eight rebounds.

Just two weeks ago at Houston, Rice dominated the low post in a 75-58 victory over Hawai'i. Shimonovich did not play in that game, and Rice center Yamar Diene took advantage with 24 points and 12 rebounds. Last night, the 6-9 Diene finished with 14 points and nine rebounds.

"He's a skillful player, but I'm just as big and strong as him," Akpan said. "All I did was watch tape and Coach (Bob) Nash told me that (Diene) always goes to the baseline, so I tried to take away the baseline."

Wallace added: "Phil and Tony, especially early, played really good defense."

Diene had just four points in the first half, although Rice managed to take a 26-25 lead at intermission.

English scored six points during a 13-5 surge that put Hawai'i ahead, 47-38 with 7:41 remaining. However, several costly turnovers by the 'Bows allowed the Owls to catch up.

"We made some mistakes down the stretch, or we might have won this at the end of regulation," Wallace said.

Rice tied the score at 51 on a 3-pointer by Mance with 1:10 remaining. Martin responded with two free throws to put UH up, 53-51, with 44.9 seconds left.

The 'Bows created another Rice turnover, but Martin gave it right back with an ill-advised pass that was stolen. That allowed Rice's Michael Harris to tie the score at 53 and force overtime with a turnaround jump shot in the low post with 4.9 seconds remaining.

Martin and English combined for all nine UH points in overtime, with Martin scoring five. His three-point play — he converted a 15-foot jump shot and was fouled — with 1:03 remaining put UH ahead, 60-59.

"He was very happy we won the game because he made that bad pass that almost cost us," Wallace said. "But he came right back and made a big jump shot, showed what he's made of."

Rice tied the score at 60 on a free throw by Diene, setting the stage for English.

With the clock winding down, English drove through the right side of the lane and was fouled by Rashid Smith. Wallace said it was not exactly the play he wanted.

"Never do I call a play for Carl to drive," Wallace said. "In fact, I'm screaming at him 'Please don't drive!' But he had to at that point. There was no jump shot (open) and the clock was running down, so you have to go ahead and try and draw the foul."

English, who had an off-shooting night by his standards, finished with 15 points and four assists. He shot 4-of-14 from the field, including 2-of-6 from 3-point range.

"We played a lot of close games this season and a couple didn't go our way," he said. "But we learned from those negative experiences and turned them into positives."

As for the winning free throws, he said: "I just wanted to make them. I don't know what feeling that is. I like the ball in that situation."

Campbell fouled Mance on a questionable call with 1.8 seconds remaining, giving the Owls an opportunity to force a second overtime.

"He was running full speed and I was running full speed," said Campbell, who finished with three points and six assists. "He just couldn't stop from going out of bounds. I barely even touched him."

Mance missed the first free throw. He was supposed to miss the second one as well, allowing for the possibility of a Rice rebound and putback, but the ball banked into the basket for the final margin.

"I've never wanted somebody to miss free throws so bad in my life," Campbell said. "We've had our share of close ones before and come up unlucky. We got lucky this time."

Mance finished with a game-high 23 points, but he also committed five turnovers. Harris added 14 points and 10 rebounds. Rice out-rebounded Hawai'i, 38-36, but it was still an improvement from the last meeting, when the Owls won the battle of the boards by 13.

"It was typical WAC basketball," Rice head coach Willis Wilson said. "It was a good effort on our part, but Hawai'i did everything they needed to do. When we answered, they answered back."

The Owls completed their season 19-10, and are now hoping for a spot in the National Invitation Tournament.

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