The opening game of the EA Sports Maui Invitational wasn't just a hot ticket it was plain hot.

The air conditioning system at the Lahaina Civic Center shut down Sunday night and early yesterday morning because of a power outage. Workers could not get the system up and running before tip-off, leaving the 2,400-seat civic center humid and hot for the 9:30 a.m. game between the 12th-ranked Memphis Tigers and the Oklahoma Sooners.

"Obviously, it played a factor," said Sooners coach Jeff Capel. "The floor was slick, we fell a lot but that's not why we lost."

The heat prompted many spectators to create makeshift fans while others stood near exits to catch a breeze.

Maintenance workers were able to restore power to the air conditioning system by the start of the Georgia Tech-Purdue game at noon.

UCLA'S WOODEN STILL FOND OF PURDUE

Even at 95, legendary former UCLA coach John Wooden doesn't miss a home game but he will be watching more than his Bruins on ESPN in the EA Sports Maui Invitational.

Before he began his storied coaching career, Wooden was a standout athlete at Purdue University. Purdue opened with a 79-61 loss to Georgia Tech in the opening round of the invitational.

Wooden won letters in basketball and baseball his freshman year and later earned All-America honors as a guard on the Purdue basketball team from 1930-32. He captained Purdue's basketball teams of 1931 and 1932 and led the Boilermakers to two Big Ten titles and the 1932 national championship, according to the UCLA media guide.

Wooden's name was inscribed on Purdue's academic honor roll and he was awarded the 1932 Big Ten Conference medal for outstanding merit and proficiency in scholarship and athletics.

MAHAR, STUDENT WIN CHARITY CONTEST

As a player at Johnson State College, Matt Mahar once averaged nine assists per game while leading his team to back-to-back winning seasons in 1995 and 1996.

Apparently, Chaminade's head coach can also shoot.

Mahar teamed with a Maui public school student to win the EA Sports coach's charity free-throw contest.

Allyssa Ferrer, a seventh-grader at Maui Waena and one of two girls participating in the contest, hit all three of her free throws. Not to be outdone, Mahar knocked down all three.

CHAMINADE HONORS WILL POUNDS

At halftime of its game against UCLA, Chaminade retired the number of Will Pounds and created the Will Pounds Memorial Scholarship for Student Athletes.

Pounds, affectionately known as "Mr. Chaminade," "Big Will" and "Hawaii 5-0" was the first Hawai'i college basketball player to score 2,000 points in his career. Pounds, 49, died in March of a heart attack.

Started with a $5,000 donation by Pounds' widow, Yvette, Chaminade intends to raise another $20,000 to endow the scholarship.

Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.