But when teammates from the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team put a karaoke beat in the background, Peciukas is all of a sudden the lead singer, able to belt out American tunes by the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Uncle Kracker.

"I don't know," he said with a sly grin. "I just try to fit in."

He pulled another surprise on Wednesday when he scored a career-high 15 points in a reserve role to help Hawai'i to an 81-67 victory over Boise State.

Peciukas is a 6-foot-7 senior forward who may have had a better-late-than-never breakthrough this week.

"I'm ready to play no matter when the coaches want to put me in," said Peciukas, who is originally from Joniskis, Lithuania. "Hopefully, I can carry it to the next game."

Peciukas will likely play a key role again tomorrow when the 'Bows host Wisconsin-Milwaukee in an ESPN Bracket Buster Saturday game.

Prior to Wednesday, Peciukas was averaging 3.2 points and 7.4 minutes per game. Against Boise State, he made 6 of 9 field goals in a season-high 27 minutes.

In the practices leading to the Boise State game, Hawai'i head coach Riley Wallace "opened up" every position, giving Peciukas an opportunity to earn more playing time.

"He answered the call," Wallace said. "I'm leaving it up to him now. He knows what it takes and what's expected."

Fittingly enough, Peciukas' strength is his ability to surprise defenders with sneaky moves away from the ball.

"He knows what to do in our offense," Wallace said. "But he can be very passive at times, and so that's why other guys were ahead of him. I think it finally got to his head that this was his senior year and he needed to be aggressive."

Fellow senior Jake Sottos was in a similar situation earlier this season, and he is now UH's starting shooting guard.

"(Peciukas) knows how to get away from his man and get to the rim," Sottos said. "He knows how to score. We've always known that, and he got to show it (Wednesday) night."

A lot of people have known about Peciukas' basketball skills for a long time. He was a member of Lithuania's junior national team before enrolling at a high school in Alabama as an exchange student in 2000.

At Weatherford College in Texas, he averaged 23 points and four assists per game as a freshman. He then chose Hawai'i over other top NCAA Division I programs, including Illinois, Oklahoma and Florida.

"He's put up points everywhere he's been, including the times he's got into games for us," said Hawai'i associate coach Jackson Wheeler, who recruited Peciukas. "He just needed a chance."

Peciukas said: "Sometimes I think about what it would be like if I chose another school. But I don't ever regret choosing Hawai'i. This has been a great experience for me."

It helps that his younger brother, Audrius, is a member of the Hawai'i Pacific basketball team.

"We used to fight all the time," Peciukas said. "But now we have each other and we're far from home, so we hang out all the time."

It also helps that Peciukas is the unofficial post-game planner for the 'Bows.

"He's the guy we all go to to find out what's going on for the night," Sottos said. "He's fun and he always finds something fun for us to do."

Regardless of how his senior season ends, Peciukas plans to complete his degree in sociology, and then pursue possible professional basketball opportunities in Europe.

"I always tell everybody back home that Hawai'i is the best place," he said. "Nothing's going to change that."

Sensley practices, but still questionable

Starting forward Julian Sensley participated in a light workout yesterday, but is still listed as questionable for tomorrow's game because of a sprained right knee.

Sensley sustained the injury late in the game against Boise State. He was fouled while completing a powerful dunk, and fell awkwardly.

"I expect him to be there, but we still have to watch it," Wallace said. "It's still a sprain, so he's not 100 percent."