Box Score
HONOLULU – The Hawai'i men's basketball advanced to its third consecutive Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic Championship game with an 82-64 victory over IUPUI, Monday night, at the Stan Sheriff Center. The Rainbow Warriors face Fairfield, who was 60-56 victors over Pepperdine, in Tuesday's championship.
The 'Bows (7-2) extended its win streak to five games and have won eight straight in the Rainbow Classic since 2001. The two-time defending tournament champions seek its ninth Classic title.
Senior guard Michael Kuebler scored a game-high 26 points on 9-of-12 shooting, including a career-high 7-of-9 from 3-point range. It marked the sixth time this season that Kuebler reached the 20-point mark and 12th time in his career.
Senior forward Phil Martin added 18 points and six rebounds and sophomore forward Julian Sensley posted 15 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists. Sophomore Logan Lee dished out 10 assists and senior Haim Shimonovich grabbed 13 rebounds, his fifth game in double digits.
IUPUI went ahead 9-4 before the 'Bows scored nine straight to take a 13-9 lead. Moments later, behind the long range shooting of Kuebler, the 'Bows used a 19-4 surge to push its lead into double figures.
Kuebler connected on his first five shots in the first half, including four from 3-point range, for a team-leading 14 points.
In the second half, after the Jaguars closed to 43-39, the 'Bows scored on three straight possessions, including consecutive fastbreak dunks by Shimonovich and Martin. With UH leading 57-50 midway through the half, IUPUI's Odell Bradley went down with a severely sprained right ankle.
Bradley, the team's leading scorer, had 10 points and four rebounds before leaving the game with the injury. UH out-scored the Jaguars, 25-14 the rest of the way.
Tip-off for the championship game is set for 7:35 p.m. In the third-place match-up, IUPUI takes on Pepperdine at 5:05 p.m.
In the consolation bracket, Lamar and Bowling Green battle for seventh place at 11:00 a.m. followed by East Tennessee State and American for the consolation championship at 1:30 p.m.
Championship Round
Fairfield def. Pepperdine, 60-56
Michael Bell's 3-pointer with :45.1 remaining lifted Fairfield past Pepperdine, 60-56, in the early semifinals. Bell finished with 13 points, 11 of which came after intermission.
Pepperdine used a 14-2 run midway through the second half to erase a 10-point halftime deficit. Terrance Johnson scored 12 of his game-high 16 points in the period.
As a team, the Stags shot 46 percent from the field. Deng Gai blocked six shots to go along with nine points and 10 rebounds.
Consolation Round
East Tennessee State def. Lamar, 75-62
ETSU raced out to a 37-25 halftime lead en route to a 75-62 victory over Lamar in the day's first consolation round game. Jerald Fields scored a game-high 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Buccaneers (8-3).
After the Cardinals closed the deficit to three (46-43) with 15:24 left, ETSU went on a 16-2 run over the next six plus minutes to put the game out of reach. The Bucs limited Lamar to just 33 percent shooting for the game and just 13.3 percent from 3-point range.
Blake Whittle recorded 13 points and nine rebounds for the Cardinals.
American def. Bowling Green, 73-64
American shot 51.5 percent in the first half to take a 39-28 halftime lead in its 73-64 victory over Bowling Green in the day's second consolation round game. Four players scored in double figures for the Eagles (4-6), including a team-high 19 points by Andre Ingram.
The Falcons used a 12-0 run in the second half to turn a nine-point deficit into a three-point lead with 12:26 remaining. Moments later, the Eagles responded with a 12-0 run of its own during a six-minute stretch to retake the lead, 66-59, with 4:27 left.
In the loss, Bowling Green's Ron Lewis scored a game-high 29 points.
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