Hawai'i's NIT run ends in Michigan, 88-73

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

University of Hawai'i point guard Jason Carter gets down and dirty as he retrieves a loose ball with Michigan forward Chris Hunter hovering above him. Associated Press Quarterfinals Yesterday's results Rutgers 72, Villanova 70 Michigan 88, Hawai'i 73 Today's games Oregon (17-12) at Notre Dame (19-12), 2 p.m. HST Marquette (19-11) at Iowa State (19-12), 4:30 p.m. HST Semifinals At New York Tuesday, March 30 Michigan vs. Oregon-Notre Dame winner Rutgers vs. Marquette-Iowa State winner Championship At New York Thursday, April 1 Semifinal winners

Amid a downpour of rain outside the Crisler Arena, and a shower of taunts inside, the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team ended its season with an 88-73 loss to Michigan in the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament.

"It's disappointing because we really wanted this thing," Hawai'i head coach Riley Wallace said. "We were in a battle. We were in it because we wanted to go to New York. We were right there fighting for it, but I think Michigan wore us down."

For the fifth time in school history, the Rainbow Warriors ended a season in the NIT quarterfinals. They have never advanced to the NIT final four, which is held annually in New York's historic Madison Square Garden.

Hawai'i completed its season at 21-12, including a 2-1 record in the NIT.

Over the course of eight days in the NIT, the 'Bows upset No. 25 Utah State at Logan, Utah, returned home to beat Nebraska on Monday, then arrived in Michigan on Tuesday to prepare for last night's game.

"You were asking them to do the almost impossible," Wallace said. "Trying to come in to beat a good Michigan team at home with a great crowd (10,306) in a hostile situation. But I think we gave a valiant effort and didn't wear down until the 10-minute mark."

The final score was not necessarily indicative of the flow of the game. The 'Bows stayed close to the Wolverines throughout the first half, and were within seven with less than 10 minutes to play.

Michael Kuebler, Hawai'i's record-breaking 3-point shooter, went out slinging in his final collegiate game. He scored a game-high 19 points, including 5-of-11 shooting from 3-point range.

"For some of us, it was going to be our last game, so we wanted to leave it all out there on the court," said Kuebler, who also passed for a career-high eight assists.

Julian Sensley added 16 points, Haim Shimonovich 12 and Jeff Blackett 10 to pace the 'Bows' balanced attack.

Problem was, the Wolverines had even more options. They had five players finish with double-figure points, including an unexpected source.

Lester Abram, a 6-foot-6 forward who was listed as doubtful before the game because of an injured shoulder, came off the bench to score a team-high 17 points. It was his first appearance since injuring his shoulder on March 12.

"I wasn't anticipating to play him as much as I did," Michigan head coach Tommy Amaker said. "He really came through for us. To play the way he did after the long layoff says a lot about the kid's toughness."

Bernard Robinson Jr. and Graham Brown added 14 points each, Daniel Horton 13 and Dion Harris 12 for the Wolverines, who improved to 21-11.

As it has throughout the NIT, Hawai'i came out in impressive fashion last night. The 'Bows held early leads of 7-5 and 9-7, then went on a 13-4 surge to tie the game at 28 with 8:26 remaining in the first half.

A spectacular alley-oop jam by Sensley tied the score at 30, and had the crowd oohing and ahhing.

"We came out hitting our shots and took good care of the ball," Kuebler said.

Abrams scored seven to spark an 11-5 Michigan run to close the half, giving the Wolverines a 43-37 lead at halftime.

Hawai'i never got closer than that in the second half as the Wolverines increased their pressure defense to take advantage of the road-weary 'Bows. Most telling, 14 of Michigan's 16 field goals in the second half were either layups or shots from the low post.

"Second half was our downfall," Hawai'i senior forward Phil Martin said. "We just weren't executing."

A 3-pointer by Kuebler helped the 'Bows close to 66-59 with 9:52 remaining. But Michigan responded with an 11-3 surge to take control for good.

By then, "The Maize Rage" — Michigan's rowdy student section — was at its loudest.

"They made a run on us and we let the crowd kind of get to us," Sensley said. "We weren't getting back on our man (defensively); everybody was confused."

Many of the 'Bows refused to use fatigue as an excuse but the Wolverines were consistently able to out-run the Hawai'i players for easy baskets in the second half.

"More than anything, it was probably that we had less time to prepare for this game," Kuebler said.

After shooting better than 60 percent from the field in its previous two NIT games, Hawai'i shot 48.3 percent last night (28 of 58), including 32 percent from 3-point range (8 of 25).

"If you look at our 3-point shooting, that tells you two things," Wallace said. "One, you lost your legs. Two, we took too many 3s because we couldn't get those power cuts (near the basket)."

After a brief team meeting in the locker room, the 'Bows came out surprisingly upbeat, and every player had his head raised.

"It was an exciting run," Martin said. "Doing all the traveling we did and coming this far in the NIT, we can be awfully proud of that."

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