Posted at 9:25 p.m., Saturday, February 4, 2006
Rainbow Warriors pound San Jose State, 83-68
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
The Rainbow Warriors got back near the top of the Western Athletic Conference standings with an 83-68 victory over San Jose State tonight.
After sweeping its two-game homestand, Hawai'i is 12-8 overall and 6-4 in the WAC. The 'Bows are just one game behind the three teams tied for first place (Louisiana Tech, Nevada and Utah State are 7-3).
The Spartans dropped to 5-16 overall and 1-7 in the conference.
Julian Sensley led a balanced Hawai'i attack with 25 points and nine rebounds. Ahmet Gueye added 19 points and seven rebounds, and Deonte Tatum and Matt Lojeski scored 10 points each. "Big Matt" Gipson added nine points and nine rebounds.
Hawai'i lost an 11-point lead in the first half, but took control of the game with a strong second half.
The 'Bows, who entered the game ranked last in the WAC with a 62.5 free throw percentage, went 19 for 20 from the free throw line (95 percent).
The 'Bows took a 27-16 lead with 8:11 remaining in the first half after Sensley slammed in an alley-oop dunk off a pass from Lojeski. Sensley had 13 points at that stage of the game, but he did not score the rest of the first half.
The Spartans closed the first half with a 12-4 run to tie the score at 33 at intermission. Alex Elam hit a 3-pointer just before the horn sounded to end the half. He had 15 points in the first half to lead San Jose State.
