Box Score
HONOLULU - The University of Hawai`i Rainbow Warriors (6-1) defeated the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (6-5) 74-61 in the semifinal of the 39th Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic at the Stan Sheriff Center Sunday, advancing to the championship game at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow night.
Carl English led the way for the Rainbow Warriors with 26 points on 4-for-8 shooting from beyond the three-point line. The junior hit his first five shots, three of which were from three-point land. Phil Martin added 19 points and six boards while shooting 8-for-14 from the field. Nkeruwem Akpan continued his solid play off the bench as he went for 12 points and eight rebounds while going 6-for-7 from the free-throw line. Mark Campbell played solid at the point, going for five points and eight assists while hitting a perfect 3-for-3 from the free-throw line.
After giving up an early basket, UH's English responded with 10 points in a 14-0 Hawai`i run that spanned more than four minutes. The Rainbow Warriors kept their lead at 19-6 before Tennessee Tech came back with a 15-3 run to get within one point at 22-21. Campbell then hit a big three-point play (layup and free throw) that started a 9-2 Hawai`i run before the team went into the half with a 34-27 lead.
The two teams started the second half trading 8-2 runs. The difference stayed between six and eight points before three straight Golden Eagle baskets cut the UH lead to 52-50. The game stayed close until a Michael Kuebler three-pointer and a big three-point play (layup and free throw) by Martin gave the Rainbow Warriors a seven-point lead with less than three minutes left. Akpan came up big towards the end of the game, draining a 15-foot jump shot as the shot clock expired, then converting a big three-point play with 17.9 seconds left to put Hawai`i up 72-61. A couple of free throws by English sealed the deal as UH took the game 74-61.
Antwyon Jones led a balanced Tennessee Tech attack with 14 points and seven rebounds. Cameron Crisp added 12 points and five assists while Brent Jolly went 2-for-3 from beyond the arc for 12 points.
The Rainbow Warriors will face the Butler Bulldogs, who defeated Western Kentucky 63-60 in the early semifinal, tomorrow in the Rainbow Classic championship game. The team will then leave Tuesday morning for El Paso, Texas, for UH's first two WAC games at UTEP on Jan. 2 and at Boise State on Jan. 4.
-uh-
