Rainbow Warriors rebound for first WAC win of season

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

University of Hawai'i guard Michael Kuebler loses control of the ball as he drives to the basket in the first half against Nevada. The Rainbow Warriors won, 60-53. Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser

A crowd of 4,296 at the Stan Sheriff Center watched the 'Bows improve to 9-3 overall and 1-1 in the WAC by beating the team that was picked to win the conference during the preseason. Nevada, which has never won a game in seven trips to Honolulu, dropped to 7-4 and 1-1.

"The heart is still ticking," Hawai'i head coach Riley Wallace said. "We went in cardiac arrest on Saturday. (Last night) they revived us with the paddles ... so we're back."

After a depressing 69-58 loss to Fresno State on Saturday, the 'Bows rebounded with an inspiring performance last night.

Among the leaders were the two 'Bows who struggled the most on Saturday.

Michael Kuebler scored a game-high 23 points on 7 of 14 shooting, including 2 of 3 from 3-point range.

"Right off the bat, we came out this game more fired up than we've been for any game this entire year," he said.

Julian Sensley, who has been slowly recovering from a bruised left shoulder, recorded his fourth double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

After grabbing just 16 rebounds on Saturday, Hawai'i out-rebounded the Wolf Pack, 40-31.

Phil Martin contributed 10 points and five rebounds for UH, which has not lost consecutive WAC home games since 2000.

"We just wanted to prove to ourselves as a team that we know what we're capable of doing," Martin said.

It started hours before the game, when the UH players requested an extra film session.

"First time I ever had a team want to do that," Wallace said.

The players said it was a matter of boosting team confidence.

"There's only so much coaches can do," Kuebler said. "It's collectively on all of us to kind of get each other fired up."

Nevada tried to extinguish it behind Kirk Snyder. The 6-foot-6 junior proved his worth as the WAC's preseason player of the year with 21 points, five rebounds and four assists.

He kept Nevada in the game early, scoring 11 points in the first eight minutes of the game. The Wolf Pack led by as many as 25-16 with 8:13 remaining in the half.

However, Nevada head coach Trent Johnson said his team abandoned its offense shortly after, with Snyder leading the way.

"At times, it looked like Snyder was the only guy taking bad shots," Johnson said. "We had a lead and he took some ill-advised shots."

The 'Bows responded with a 15-2 run to close the half, giving them a 31-27 advantage at intermission.

Sensley, who injured his shoulder after falling while moving a television, sparked the surge with highlights worthy of television. He had three dunks, including a two-handed driving jam that tied the score at 27.

"I was a little worried about my shoulder when I went up, but in the flow of the game, I saw that baseline wide open so I just took it," he said.

Wallace was assessed a technical foul — "I deserved it," he said — at the end of the first half for arguing foul calls. Nevada's Todd Okeson made one of two free throws to cut the UH lead to 31-28, but that was as close as it would get.

"It was worth the one point because the team stuck with me and got fired up, too," Wallace said.

The 'Bows maintained the lead with hustle, as virtually every player took turns diving for loose balls and chasing stray rebounds.

"Every loose ball was theirs, every rebound was theirs," Johnson said.

Nevada did not help its own cause, going just 5 of 16 from the free-throw line.

The UH point guard tandem of Logan Lee and Jason Carter combined for six points and six assists, and harassed Nevada point guard Okeson into seven turnovers.

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