Box Score Box Score
FRESNO, Calif. – For the second year in a row, Hawaii can claim they are Western Athletic Conference champions. The Rainbow Warriors captured a share of the regular season title with an 82-79 victory over Fresno State, Saturday night, at a sold-out Selland Arena.
Without its leading scorer, Predrag Savovic, who was sitting out after sustaining back spasms in the team's loss at Nevada on Thursday, Hawaii (24-5, 15-3) won its second ever regular season crown and second consecutive WAC championship. The 'Bows shared the WAC Pacific Division crown in 1997 and won last year's WAC Tournament in Tulsa.
Sophomore Carl English, the hero in last year's title game against Tulsa, scored a career-high 33 points on 10-of-17 shooting, including five 3-pointers. Guard Mike McIntyre also surpassed his career-best with 27 points, including the game-winning 3-pointer with 33.2 seconds remaining putting UH ahead 82-76. McIntyre finished the game with a career-best seven 3-pointers as the team tied the single-game school-record of 14 treys, which they set earlier this year.
“This win was very good for this team,” head coach Riley Wallace said. “We wanted this for the No. 1 seed in next week's WAC Tournament.”
Hawaii and Tulsa finished the regular season with identical 15-3 league marks, but the 'Bows hold the advantage after sweeping the two-game series with the Golden Hurricane. As the No. 1 seed in the WAC Tournament, which will be held at Tulsa's Donald Reynolds Center, UH will meet the No. 7 vs. No. 10 winner on Thursday.
Fresno State's Melvin Ely, the reining WAC player of the year, finished with a team-high 25 points, on 11-of-13 shooting, and 12 rebounds. Ely, who was playing his final home game, was held in check during the second half scoring just 10 points. After UH center Haim Shimonovich picked up his fourth foul early in the period, reserve center Nkeruwem Akpan played tight defense on Ely, limiting him to four shot attempts.
“He was big tonight,” Wallace said of Akpan. “He is big and strong and battled Ely. Akpan made him (Ely) work for everything he had tonight.”
The first half was a see-saw battle after nine lead changes and five ties. Travis DeManby's 3-pointer with :03 remaining, tied the game at 44 heading into the half. English was the star of the period, scoring 27 points, including 15 of the team's first 17.
“We stepped up to the challenge, me and Mike,” English said. “It was a big game, and I was feeling pretty good.”
McIntyre was the shooting star for the 'Bows in the second half, scoring 16 points with four 3-pointers. With the score tied at 54 with 12:45 remaining, McIntyre scored eight points during a 13-3 run which put the 'Bows ahead 67-57.
After Fresno State pulled to within 70-66 on a Damon Jackson 3-pointer with 6:44 left, the 'Bows answered with a Phil Martin turnaround jumper and another McIntyre trey to extend its lead to 77-68. Moments later, McIntyre blocked Jackson's jump shot and converted on a fastbreak layup. On the Bulldogs ensuing possession, Ely missed three free throws. UH rebounded and Martin's soft jumper put the 'Bows ahead 79-68 with 3:03 left.
But the Bulldogs would not succomb. Jackson's 3-pointer with 2:06 left cut the UH lead to 79-74. Martin turned the ball over on UH's next possession, which resulted in a pair of Jackson free throws. With 1:42 left and the 'Bows holding on to a slim 79-76 lead, Martin missed on his shot attempt but McIntyre recovered the offensive rebound.
With the clock on its side, 'Bows held the ball until McIntyre drilled a long-range 3-pointer, sealing the UH victory. The Bulldogs came back downcourt and Jackson hit his fifth trey to bring the Bulldogs to within 82-79 with 8.9 seconds left. McIntyre was fouled after the inbounds but missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw. Fresno State had one last chance but could not get off the 3-point attempt in time.
“It's a great feeling,” McIntyre said after the win. “I wanted to have a good end of season game. English was amazing and has a lot of heart. We all have a lot of heart.”
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