LIHU‘E — The University of Hawai‘i men’s basketball team picked up its first conference win of the year in a hard-fought 56-48 victory over Louisiana Tech, Saturday night at the Thomas Assembly Center, states a release from the UH athletic
LIHU‘E — The University of Hawai‘i men’s basketball team picked up its first conference win of the year in a hard-fought 56-48 victory over Louisiana Tech, Saturday night at the Thomas Assembly Center, states a release from the UH athletic department.
The ‘Bows improved to 10-8 overall and 1-5 in the Western Athletic Conference while handing first-year head coach Gib Arnold his first career conference victory.
It was a cathartic win for the ’Bows who not only ended a five-game slide, but also ended a 15-game road losing streak dating back nearly two years. A total of 13 of those losses came in WAC regular-season action with the ’Bows last winning at Fresno State in February 2009.
The game was a tight affair throughout with the Rainbow Warriors securing the win by scoring the game’s final seven points. UH put on one of its best defensive showings of the season, holding the Bulldogs (9-10, 0-5 WAC) scoreless for the final 2:31 of the game and forcing them to just 29 percent shooting from the field.
Senior Bill Amis played the pivotal role in the UH lineup with a monster effort, posting 22 points and 12 rebounds. It was his first double-double of the season and fourth of his career.
Both teams struggled offensively in the first half, particularly from distance, going a combined 1-of-13 on 3-pointers. UH led for much of the opening 20 minutes, but the Bulldogs scored six straight points to take their first lead of the game five minutes before the break. The ’Bows responded with six straight points of their own, part of a 9-1 run, that helped give UH a 29-25 lead into the locker room.
The Bulldogs hit back-to-back 3-pointers, part of an 8-0 run, that gave LTU a three-point lead with less than eight minutes to play in the game. From there it was a nail-biter as the teams traded back and forth. UH held a slim 49-48 lead with a little more than two minutes left, but scored on their next two possessions, including a lay-up by Joston Thomas after a key steal by Jeremiah Ostrowski to help trigger the game-ending 7-0 run. The ’Bows played the final 3:18 without leading scorer Zane Johnson who fouled out.
UH now returns to Hawai‘i for three straight home games beginning with a meeting versus Fresno State on Thursday, Jan. 20. Tipoff is 7 p.m. at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Wahine fall to Boise State, 69-63
LIHU‘E — The University of Hawai‘i women’s basketball team (6-11, 0-4 WAC) battled hard but lost at Boise State (11-7, 1-3 WAC) 69-63 on Saturday night at Taco Bell Arena. Shawna-Lei Kuehu scored a career-high 18 points and Kamilah Jackson grabbed 22 rebounds to lead the Rainbow Wahine in the Western Athletic Conference game, states a UH press release.
Three Rainbow Wahine — Kuehu, Megan Tinnin, and Keisha Kanekoa — all posted double-digits scoring. Tinnin scored 16 points with a game-high four 3-pointers and grabbed nine rebounds while Kanekoa scored 14 points and dished out a season-high six assists.
Kuehu was shackled with early foul trouble, playing just 26 minutes — including the last nine minutes of the game with four fouls. She still had a full stat line with eight rebounds, an assist, a block and a steal. She was 7-of-16 from the floor and sunk a career-high three 3-pointers for the best offensive output of her UH career.
Jackson’s 22 rebounds marked the third time this season that she’s had more than 20 boards. She secured a season-high 25 against CSU Bakersfield and 20 against Louisiana Tech. Jackson was third in the NCAA DI with 12.6 rebounds per game. After UH’s two road games in which she had 18 rebounds at Idaho and 22 tonight, she is now averaging 13.2 rebounds per game.
In a game which saw 10 lead changes and eight ties, the Rainbow Wahine out-rebounded their opponent (59-43) for the third straight game, but lost its fourth straight. Hawai‘i has now lost 14 straight WAC road games. Once again, turnovers played a key role in the loss, as Boise State converted UH’s 21 turnovers into 24 points and at the free-throw line, the ‘Bows were able to hit just 50 percent (8-of-16) whereas the Broncos shot 75 percent (18-of-24).
Boise State had built as big a lead as eight points mid-way through the second half, but Hawai‘i was able to whittle it down to a single point on a 3-pointer by Kuehu with 1:57 left in the game. But the Broncos pulled away in the end on a jumper by Lauren Lenhardt and three free throws by Janie Bos.
The Broncos’ Lenhardt tied a school record with 37 points in the game. She scored 23 of BSU’s 30 points in the first half.
Hawai‘i continues its five-straight conference road swing on Jan. 22 at San Jose State.
That game is slated to tip off at 7 p.m. local time, 5 p.m. Hawaiian.
Following that ballgame, the Wahine will remain in California to take on Fresno State, Jan. 24 at 6 p.m. PT (4 p.m. HT), then will head east to face Utah State in Logan, Utah on Jan. 27.
They will open a three-game homestand on Jan. 31 against Nevada, tipping at 7 p.m. at the SSC.
