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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Tuesday, November 18, 2003

UH staves off upset, 63-56

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawai'i newcomer Julian Sensley puts a pump fake on Brigham Young-Hawai'i's Matt Winans in the first half at Stan Sheriff Center. Sensley scored 10 points.

Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser

La'ie to Manoa proved to be a little too far for the slingshot.

As a result, the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team defeated Brigham Young-Hawai'i, 63-56, barely avoiding a valiant upset bid by the NCAA Division II Seasiders.

A crowd of 3,056 at the Stan Sheriff Center watched the exhibition opener for the Rainbow Warriors.

Because it was an exhibition for the 'Bows, the result and statistics will not count.

However, BYUH already played two exhibition games this season, so it had to count last night's game as its official season opener.

"That was something that would probably haunt us for the rest of the year to lose to a school that's on the same island," said senior guard Michael Kuebler, who led Hawai'i with 18 points.

Exhibition or not, it wasn't supposed to be that close.

The Seasiders led for the first 32 minutes and trailed by only one with less than four minutes remaining in the game.

"I think we had a bit of urgency," said senior center Paul Jesinskis, who finished with 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting and six rebounds in the first start of his UH career.

UH head coach Riley Wallace said he rated his team as "lousy" in the first half and "fair" in the second.

"It was almost like we didn't respect them in the first half," Wallace said. "Second half, we played much better defense, obviously."

The Seasiders came out slinging from the start. They made their first four shots to race to a 10-3 lead before even four minutes had elapsed.

By the time the Seasiders took a 28-21 lead, they made 11 of 15 field goals.

"Each person was kind of letting their man score," said UH sophomore forward Julian Sensley. "We need to communicate more as a team."

The Seasiders shot .542 (13 of 24) in the first half and took a 33-25 lead at halftime. The 'Bows shot only .333 (8 of 24) in the first half.

BYUH was led by NCAA Division I transfers Jake Chrisman (BYU) and Michael Stowell (Utah State). Chrisman, a 6-foot-9 forward, scored a game-high 23 points, including 11 in the first half. Stowell, a 6-4 guard, scored 13 of his 18 in the first half.

"I thought we caught (Hawai'i) a little flat-footed in that first half," said BYUH head coach Ken Wagner. "But then they stepped it up on us defensively and took over the inside."

Led by Sensley, the 'Bows controlled the low post in the second half. He finished with 10 points, a game-high nine rebounds, three blocked shots and two steals.

The 'Bows took their first lead of the game at 47-46 on a layup by Jesinskis off an assist from Kuebler with 7:36 remaining in the game. An emphatic blocked shot by Vaidotas Peciukas and a driving one-handed dunk by Sensley contributed to a 51-46 lead the 'Bows would not relinquish the rest of the way.

Kuebler had 11 points and five assists in the decisive second half.

Sophomore point guard Logan Lee scored seven of his nine points in the final three minutes — including a 25-foot 3-pointer — to help preserve the victory.

"That's what exhibitions are all about," Wallace said. "We'll execute better, I assume, the next one."

The 'Bows will open the regular season on Friday against UC Santa Barbara.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8101.