But for a few afternoon hours yesterday, the weather had nothing on the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team. The Rainbow Warriors defeated Tulsa, 73-71 in double overtime, in the latest, perhaps greatest, chapter in the teams' ongoing rivalry.

"It was the craziest game I've ever been a part of," UH senior forward Phil Martin said. "So many things happened — good and bad. It's one of those games we're going to be talking about for a long time."

The first topic of conversation should be about first place. Hawai'i improved to 15-4 overall and remained in a tie with Rice for first place in the Western Athletic Conference at 7-2. Tulsa dropped to 7-11 overall and 3-6 in the WAC.

"Staying in first place is what kept us going," junior forward Jeff Blackett said. "We didn't want to go back home if we weren't in first place."

A crowd of 7,604 at the Donald W. Reynolds Center was sent into the 20-degree night disappointed as the 'Bows got career-best performances from several players. Among them were five who finished with double-digit points:

• Sophomore forward Julian Sensley matched his career-high with 20 points and grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds to lead the 'Bows in both categories. He played the entire 50 minutes, and scored 17 points after intermission.

"It was all about heart, really," he said. "We're warriors. We fight to the end."

• Senior guard Michael Kuebler had 11 points on a poor shooting night, hitting just 4 of 16 attempts, including just 2 of 9 from 3-point range. However, he grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds for the first statistical double-double of his UH career.

"I told him he took the night off," Hawai'i head coach Riley Wallace said. "Then I looked at the stats and saw he grabbed 11 rebounds, so he actually didn't take the night off. He worked his butt off and helped us somewhere else."

• Sophomore point guard Logan Lee matched his career-high with 11 points, including six of Hawai'i's nine points in the decisive second overtime.

"This game was just tons of fun," he said. "It seemed like so many different guys had big plays to help us win."

• Martin had 15 points and eight rebounds and played a career-high 50 minutes, joining Sensley as the only players to stay on the court the entire game.

Martin hit the game-tying shot in regulation on a tough putback between two defenders, and also dived to collect a loose ball at the end of the second overtime to secure the UH win.

"When the game goes that long, and you play that hard, you do whatever it takes to win," he said.

• Blackett matched his career-high with 33 minutes, and scored 11 points in relief of starting center Haim Shimonovich, who was ineffective because of foul trouble.

According to the players, Wallace also played a major role with his version of a Super Bowl halftime — filled with verbal fireworks.

In the first half, Hawai'i shot just 28 percent from the field (7 of 25) and committed 10 turnovers. The Golden Hurricane closed the half with a 10-2 run to take a 27-21 lead at intermission.

"I challenged them, put it that way," Wallace said of his halftime speech.

Martin, a four-year starter for the 'Bows, said: "It was probably the most fired up I've seen him. It was a little scary."

It worked. The 'Bows caught Tulsa at 44-44 with 7:41 remaining, setting up a back-and-forth battle the rest of the way.

Martin forced the first overtime by sneaking in for a rebound off a Blackett miss and putting it back in to tie it at 55 with 1:05 remaining. Both teams missed potential winning shots in the closing seconds.

Tulsa's Jason Parker, who finished with a game-high 26 points, sent it into a second overtime with a baseline jump shot that tied it at 64 with 20.2 seconds remaining.

Lee's 3-pointer from about 26 feet away as the 35-second shot clock expired broke a 67-67 tie with 2:14 remaining in the second overtime.

"Hawai'i hit some big shots," Tulsa head coach John Phillips said. "Lee's shot was probably the biggest. We did everything we were supposed to do, he just made a tough shot."

Tulsa eventually took a 71-70 lead, but Lee's two free throws with 56.4 seconds remaining put Hawai'i up for good at 72-71. Kuebler added another free throw with 18.4 seconds remaining for the final margin.

On the ensuing possession, Tulsa's Seneca Collins threw an errant pass that ricocheted off several players. Martin wound up diving for it, and Lee alertly called a timeout with 2.0 seconds remaining.

Tulsa's Anthony Price stole the inbounds pass, but missed a desperation shot from 45 feet as the final horn sounded.

"This game showed what we're all about," Wallace said. "This team has character and this team has heart."