• Alberta ousts UH • UH gets nipped by Fresno St. Alberta ousts UH By The Garden Island Nicholas Cundy put down a team-high 30 kills, leading Alberta to a 28-30, 30-24, 30-21, 34-36, 15-12 victory over Hawai`i in an
• Alberta ousts UH
• UH gets nipped by Fresno St.
Alberta ousts UH
By The Garden Island
Nicholas Cundy put down a team-high 30 kills, leading Alberta to a 28-30, 30-24, 30-21, 34-36, 15-12 victory over Hawai`i in an exhibition match at the Stan Sheriff Center tonight.
After trailing 2-1 to start the match, UH got untracked and went on an 8-1 run and held off the Golden Bears, 30-28, to win Game One.
All-American Pedro Azenha, who was suspended in the fall for violating team rules, made his presence felt early after being reinstated this week. In Game One, Azenha put down seven kills in 14 swings. Azenha would go on to lead all hitters with 31 kills.
Alberta was a different team, however, in Game Two as they hit a whopping .516, going on to win 30-24 to even the match at a game apiece. Cundy led the Bears in Game Two slamming down nine of the team’s 19 kills.
In Game Three, the two teams were tied at 13 when Alberta went on a 17-8 run to close it out, 30-21. The Golden Bears remained hot, hitting at a .481 clip in the game.
UH won the marathon Game Four by a score of 36-34 as the Warriors staved off five match points to push it to a deciding fifth game.
The Bears jumped out to a quick 6-0 start and led 10-5 before the Warriors made a run. But UH got as close as 13-11 before Alberta put the match away, 15-12.
Alberta out hit (.372 to .227) and out blocked (18.0 to 9.5) on the night.
The two teams meet again on Friday, Dec. 31, at 1 p.m. at the SSC.
UH gets nipped by Fresno St.
FRESNO, Calif. — Ja’Vance Coleman and Donovan Morris scored 20 points apiece and Chris Berry hit two late free throws Wednesday night, lifting Fresno State to a 79-78 victory over previously unbeaten Hawai‘i.
After Berry made both free throws with 27.1 seconds left, Hawaii’s Jeff Blackett missed an off-balance three-pointer at the buzzer in the Western Athletic Conference opener for both teams.
Julian Sensley scored a game-high 23 points for Hawaii (8-1, 0-1), while Blackett added 18 points and nine rebounds.
Mustafa Al-Sayyad had 15 points for Fresno State (7-3, 1-0), which made 13 of 14 free throws down the stretch and did not commit a second-half turnover.
Fresno State tied it at 61 with 8:25 left when Donovan Morris drove the lane and threw in an awkward layup while hanging in mid air.
The Bulldogs had trailed almost the entire game.
The Rainbow Warriors regained the lead on the ensuing possession when Blackett hit both free throws after drawing a blocking foul on Al-Sayyad.
The final 8:25 featured six ties and eight lead changes. After Matthew Gipson’s 3-pointer gave Hawaii a 77-74 lead with 1:36 left, Morris answered with a 3-pointer from the top of the key.
One of nine freshmen on Fresno State’s roster, Morris finished 7-of-7 from the field and made all five of his 3-pointers.
Deonte Tatum made one free throw with 49.5 seconds left, putting the Warriors ahead for the final time.
Hawaii led 41-32 at halftime by controlling the tempo and consistently getting good looks from its halfcourt offense.
Those looks disappeared in the second half. Fresno State committed 12 fouls and made 19 of 31 free throws compared to Hawaii’s 21 fouls and 11-of-16 foul shooting.
