UH sweats out victory

• Carter's hot hand carries Hawai'i
• Blackett brings road show home

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

Nebraska's Brian Conklin towers over Hawai'i's Vaidotas Peciukas, who looks to pass in the first half of their NIT second-round game. Conklin led Nebraska with 24 points, including 19 in the second half, and six rebounds. Associated Press

The University of Hawai'i men's basketball team advanced to the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament with a scintillating 84-83 second-round victory over Nebraska last night.

A raucous sellout crowd of 9,451 at the Stan Sheriff Center watched the Rainbow Warriors improve to 21-11 by holding off a valiant second-half charge from the Huskers. Nebraska, which arrived in Honolulu at 7 p.m. Sunday, completed its season 18-13.

"We refused to lose, that's basically it," said senior co-captain Phil Martin, who made two crucial baskets in the frantic final 90 seconds. "There was no way we were going to lose it, even though it seemed like we were trying to at times."

The 'Bows took the one-point victory and ran. They departed Honolulu late last night and are scheduled to arrive in Detroit this afternoon. Hawai'i will play at Michigan tomorrow in a quarterfinal game at 4 p.m. The game is scheduled to be televised on ESPN2.

"This team hasn't had this kind of energy all year," Hawai'i head coach Riley Wallace said. "And from top to bottom, everybody is playing hard, wanting to win."

True to form, the 'Bows displayed a team effort in defeating the Huskers.

Jason Carter scored a career-high 21 points, including 6 of 7 shooting from 3-point range, to lead four players in double-figure points. Jeff Blackett added 17 points, Julian Sensley 13 and Michael Kuebler 12.

"I don't know what got into me," Carter said. "I was feeling it, so I kept shooting."

Carter was limited to 17 minutes because of foul problems and an injury to his left arm and hand.

His replacement, Logan Lee, recorded nine assists to lead Hawai'i to a season-high 25 assists as a team.

After shooting 61.8 percent from the field in a first-round victory at Utah State last Wednesday, the 'Bows shot 61.2 percent last night.

"We knew Hawai'i was a really good offensive team coming in," Nebraska head coach Barry Collier said. "I actually told (Wallace) before the game that I enjoyed watching his team on tape because they execute so well. They were just so efficient and had so many different guys shooting, we couldn't cover them all."

At least it started that way.

Sparked by Carter, the 'Bows raced to an 18-13 lead. During a three-minute stretch, Carter made two 3-pointers and threw down an alley-oop dunk off a pass from Sensley to send the crowd into a frenzy.

"JC got us off to a good start," Sensley said. "That kind of got the crowd into it and we kind of fed off that."

Carter, a 5-foot-10 senior, had 14 points in just nine minutes of the first half. He departed the half with 3:07 remaining because he cut his left hand and arm while punching a courtside billboard in frustration.

The 'Bows led by as many as 19 in the first half and took a 49-32 lead at intermission.

"They came out and manhandled us," Nebraska forward Brian Conklin said. "At halftime, we knew we had to respond. It was basically an adjustment in our minds."

Conklin led the Huskers' second-half resurgence. He drained three 3-pointers to highlight a stunning 18-2 run by Nebraska in the first four minutes of the second half that cut the Hawai'i lead to 51-50.

"When you have somebody that tall who can shoot it out there, it's real hard to contest," Sensley said of the 6-foot-11 Conklin, who scored 19 of his game-high 24 points in the second half.

Nebraska took its first lead of the game at 55-54 with 14:42 remaining, and it stayed close the rest of the way.

Blackett scored four points during a 10-0 surge to give Hawai'i a 70-61 lead with 8:50 remaining, but the Huskers never conceded. Nebraska got as close as three several times, but Martin made two clutch baskets to keep the Huskers at bay.

The 'Bows made it even more exciting by connecting on just one of six free throws in the final 34 seconds. Kuebler, normally one of Hawai'i's most reliable free-throw shooters, was 1 of 7 on free throws last night, and 5 of 12 on field goals.

"We're playing so good as a team right now, they don't need me to knock down all my shots," Kuebler said.

Two free throws by Marcus Neal Jr. got Nebraska within 83-80 with 23 seconds left. Blackett made one of two free throws to put Hawai'i up 84-80, then Neal hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer for the final margin.

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

Carter's hot hand carries Hawai'i

With career-highs of 21 points and six 3-pointers, Hawai'i guard Jason Carter was obviously hot. Actually, a bit too hot.

The 5-foot-10 guard ignited the Rainbow Warriors early jump on Nebraska in their 84-83 win in a second round game of the NIT last night at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Fifty-one seconds into the game, Carter's 3-pointer from the left wing gave UH a 3-0 lead. It was the first of his four first-half 3-pointers that aided the 'Bows' commanding 49-32 lead at the intermission. And who knows what he might have done had he played more than 17 minutes.

With 3:06 left in the half, Carter was called for his second personal foul. Frustrated at the call, he slugged an advertising sign behind the baseline that left a hole in it and cuts on his left forearm and hand.

"I was just mad, man," Carter said. "I let my emotions go with it."

But UH coach Riley Wallace loved it.

"I think that's great," Wallace said. "It shows emotion, the kid's fired-up.

"We don't want him breaking signs, but it tells you what kind of heart he has and he's down there playing hard and everything. He didn't hurt anybody or anything. But he got a little scratch there, so maybe he'll have to find something softer next time. But he was into the game, emotional and playing. We'll keep him that way. We want to keep him up."

That's the Carter the 'Bows will need when they play at Michigan tomorrow in a quarterfinal NIT game. It will be like going home for Carter, who is from Gary, Ind.

"That's out my way," he said. "It's always good to go back home."

The Midwest might be his home, but last night he excited his team's home crowd of 9,451.

After his game-opening 3-pointer, he followed with his second with 16:10 left in the half when Nebraska pulled to 8-7. He got his third to give UH a cushion at 16-11.

But Carter wasn't just about draining 3s. He scored on an alley- oop slam on a pass from Julian Sensley that made it 18-13. Later, he displayed a nifty no-look pass on a fast break to Vaidotas Peciukas, whose layup made it 37-22.

Carter's fourth 3-pointer in five attempts in the half made it 40-27 with 4:19 left.

A little over a minute later, Carter punched the sign and left the game to have his arm and hand checked.

He returned in the second half, when the Cornhuskers started their surge with a 23-5 run that put Nebraska ahead, 55-54.

But Carter answered the call. His 3 with 14:21 left put UH ahead, 57-55. He then stole the ball from Nebraska guard Nate Johnson and drove to the top of the key to hit his sixth 3-pointer.

"It picked up the team offensively," Carter said of his performance. "(I) just had a good stroke."

In his career, Carter entered the game shooting 30 percent from 3-point range. But he has been hot from long distance of late. He had three 3-pointers in the Utah State win last week.

Asked if he liked hitting the 3s or his no-look pass, Carter said, "probably the 3s. I couldn't hit 3s all year."

Then after thinking about it, he added, "The no-look assist was good, too, I think."