Nash beats buzzer, Oral Roberts, 55-54
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
Two generations of the Nash family can now be forever associated with classic Rainbow Classic games.
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Bobby Nash's desperation 3-pointer from 25 feet away as time expired gave the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team a thrilling 55-54 victory over Oral Roberts last night in the semifinals of the 41st annual Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic.
Bobby Nash rejoices moments after his 25-footer as time expired lifted Hawai'i over Oral Roberts.
A crowd of 5,916 at the Stan Sheriff Center erupted into a deafening roar as Nash circled the court after his winning shot, followed by a trail of jubilant teammates.
"Everything flashed before my eyes," Nash said. "I saw my mom, everything started slowing down. All of a sudden, it went in and I didn't know what happened."
What happened was the Rainbow Warriors remained undefeated and advanced to tonight's championship game. The 7-0 'Bows, off to their best start since the 1973-74 season, will play Southern California in tonight's title game at 7:30.
"We did everything at the end there to lose the ball game and we still win it," Hawai'i head coach Riley Wallace said. "So that means it is a special team."
Nash's heroics came 33 years after his father, Bob Nash, grabbed a school-record 30 rebounds in a Rainbow Classic championship victory over Arizona State. Bob Nash is now the associate coach for UH. Both Nashes wore jersey No. 33.
Nash's buzzer-beater capped a back-and-forth game between two of the 14 remaining undefeated teams in NCAA Division I. Neither team led by more than four points in the second half.
"We've lost a lot of close games over the years, but this one probably hurts the most," Oral Roberts head coach Scott Sutton said. "It hurts because we fought so hard in this game. But that's part of basketball. We've won our share of these in the last few years, so maybe it was our time to lose one."
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The Hawai'i reserves played a key role, combining for 36 points and 16 rebounds.
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"Big Matt" Gipson led the way with career-highs of 19 points and 12 rebounds off the bench. His last rebound led to Nash's game-winning shot.
"I just come in and try to give us a spark, and try to bring us some energy," said Gipson, a 6-foot-9 junior.
"Little Matt" Gibson added 10 points off the bench. Starting forward Jeff Blackett contributed eight points and 12 rebounds, helping Hawai'i to a 44-32 advantage on the boards.
Gipson made one of two free throws with 2:51 remaining to cut Oral Roberts' lead to 54-52. The 'Bows then had three possessions to tie or go ahead, but they shot 0 for 5 on those possessions.
Oral Roberts' Caleb Green had a chance to secure the victory, but he missed the front end of a one-and-one free-throw situation with 10.4 seconds remaining.
Gipson grabbed the rebound and, without calling a timeout, Hawai'i advanced the ball toward its basket. According to Wallace, the intended play broke down, and Nash was forced to take the shot because the ball was in his hands at the time.
"If he goes out in practice and shoots five of those same shots, he probably makes four," Wallace said. "If anybody needed it to get people off his back and get the pressure off him, he needed it."
Nash went 0 for 7 from the field in UH's first-round victory over Long Beach State on Monday.
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"You can't get down," Nash said. "You just go to work. Get in the gym early and shoot, shoot, shoot."
Hawai'i guard Bobby Nash launches a 3-pointer that fell through the net as time expired.
Hawai'i's cold shooting as a team from Monday carried into the start of last night's game. The 'Bows opened the game by making just 1 of 11 shots, allowing Oral Roberts to jump to an 8-2 lead.
The Golden Eagles increased it to 13-4, prompting Wallace to bring in his reserve fuel.
Gipson scored nine points and grabbed six rebounds in the first half, and fellow reserves Vaidotas Peciukas and Jake Sottos also hit key baskets to help Hawai'i cut the Oral Roberts lead to 24-23 at halftime.
The 'Bows caught the Golden Eagles at 25-24 on a jumper by Nash early in the second half. It ended a streak of 11 consecutive misses for Nash.
"It's about time he made some," Wallace said. "He's really been uptight."
Oral Roberts, which dropped to 8-1, was led by Ken Tutt's 16 points. Green added 15 points and 16 rebounds, and Luke Spencer-Gardner scored 11.
Spencer-Gardner, a 6-1 guard, defended UH's 6-9 forward Julian Sensley, and helped limit Sensley to four points.
"It was a great atmosphere," Sutton said. "It's a tough loss, but something that can help us down the line."
The Golden Eagles will play Alabama at Birmingham for third place today at 5 p.m.
Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8101.
