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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, January 25, 2009

Shooting woes sink 'Bows, 67-51

Photo gallery: Hawaii vs. Utah State basketball

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Hawai'i center Petras Balocka, left, plays keepaway with Utah State's Jared Quayle.

NORMAN SHAPIRO | The Honolulu Advertiser

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Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Hawai'i guard Lasha Parghalava finds a seam in the Utah State defense as he drives to the basket in the first half.

NORMAN SHAPIRO | The Honolulu Advertiser

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A whirlwind week of travel ended with the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team crashing to new lows.

The Rainbow Warriors had their worst shooting performance of the season in a 67-51 loss to Utah State last night.

A crowd of 4,100 at the Stan Sheriff Center watched the 'Bows fall to 9-10 with their fifth consecutive loss. Hawai'i is in last place in the nine-team Western Athletic Conference at 1-6.

Utah State improved to 19-1 with its 14th consecutive win — and first in Hawai'i. The Aggies remained in first place in the WAC at 7-0.

"These are tough times for us," Hawai'i head coach Bob Nash said. "We hoped to be a lot better and a lot further along in our offense and defense, but with a lot of new guys, it's taken a while to get everything together, and it just hasn't come together good enough."

The 'Bows connected on just 16 of 56 field goals for a .286 percentage, including 3 of 19 (.158) from 3-point range.

The shooting woes came at the end of a week that saw the 'Bows travel from Honolulu to Reno, Nev., and then back to Honolulu. They lost at second-place Nevada, 74-63, on Thursday, then had less than 48 hours to return to Honolulu and prepare for the first-place Aggies.

"It's suicidal to think that we can play against teams like this traveling back and forth," Nash said.

Bill Amis led the 'Bows with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting. He was the only Hawai'i player to shoot better than 50 percent from the field.

Roderick Flemings added 11 points for Hawai'i, although he did not start for the first time this season due to disciplinary reasons. Nash said Flemings was late for a team meeting yesterday.

Flemings, a 6-foot-7 junior, entered the game as Hawai'i's leading scorer at 17.3 points per game. He sat out the first five minutes, but still played a team-high 33 minutes.

Lasha Parghalava scored 10 for the 'Bows, but shot 2-of-13 from the field, including 2-of -11 from 3-point range.

"We just didn't make shots," Nash said. "Teams keep us guessing ... and we stall out a little bit. If you don't make shots, you can't win and we didn't make shots in the first half."

Hawai'i tied the game at 6 after Amis scored on a dunk with 16:52 remaining in the first half. After that, it was all Aggies.

Utah State went on a 16-0 run to take a 22-6 lead that would not be challenged the rest of the way. At that stage of the game — with about 10 minutes remaining in the first half — the 'Bows made just 2 of 16 field goals for a .125 percentage.

"Fortunately for us, they were missing a lot of shots," Utah State head coach Stew Morrill said. "That's uncharacteristic of them over here in the times I've played them. We feel real fortunate to get out of here with a win. I've been coming here lots of times and leaving here with tail tucked between the legs."

The Aggies eventually took a 36-19 lead at halftime. Hawai'i shot 4 of 28 from the field in the first half for a .143 percentage, including 0-of-11 from 3-point range. The 19 points was also a season-low in a half for the 'Bows.

In contrast, Utah State went 14-of-22 from the field for a .636 percentage in the first half. The Aggies finished at 50 percent (26- of-52) for the game.

"It's a lack of effort," Amis said of the 'Bows' woes. "We need an attitude adjustment, (from players) 1 through 13. We all need to come together."

The Aggies increased the lead to as many as 20 points early in the second half. Hawai'i got as close as 60-48 with 4:30 remaining, but never any closer.

"We fought back in the second half, but it was obviously a little bit too late," Nash said. "You can't play a good team like that even in the second half and think you're going to make up any ground."

Utah State's inside duo of Tai Wesley and Gary Wilkinson did the most damage. Wesley had 15 points and 10 rebounds, leading the Aggies to a 38-28 advantage on the boards. Wilkinson had 15 points and five rebounds.

It's not going to get any easier for the 'Bows this week. They will depart Honolulu — again — on Tuesday and will play at Louisiana Tech on Thursday and at New Mexico State on Saturday.

"The WAC said they're trying to make everything fair," Nash said. "I don't see how asking us to do this is necessarily that."

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.

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