Monday, December 27, 2010

Error-prone Hawaii gift-wraps win for Tulsa

By Fred Guzman

ESPN550.com

 

It's one thing to lose a game.  It's quite another to loss at home in such inept fashion as did Hawaii on Christmas Eve.

 

Playing the role of Santa, UH gave away six turnovers to gift-wrap a 62-35 victory for Tulsa before more than 41,000 stunned fans at Aloha Stadium and a national TV audience in a game lasting an excruciating 3 hours, 54 minutes.

 

The ugly performance – filled with turnovers, penalties and defensive breakdowns – left a negative last impression to an otherwise excellent season for a Hawaii team that earned 10 wins, a WAC co-championship and a No. 24 national ranking coming into the game.

 

After keeping Hawaii in the game for most of the first half, UH's defensive unit ran out of gas against a high-tempo Tulsa attack.

 

Hawaii actually out-gained Tulsa 479-343 with quarterback Bryant Moniz thowing for 411 yards and three touchdowns.  Greg Salas had 13 catches for 213 yards and two scores. 

 

But those stats don't reflect the five picks, a fumble recovery following a muff by Salas on a punt return and the six sacks that enabled the Golden Hurricane to storm past Hawaii.

 

Damaris Johnson led the way for Tulsa by amassing 326 yards in combined yardage – 98 on five carries, 101 on four catches and another 127 on returns with two scores.

 

DIAMOND HEAD:  The Hawaii basketball team can take a lot of consolation – literally and figuratively -- from its performance during the Diamond Head Classic.

 

By defeating Mississippi State 68-57 in Saturday's fifth-place game for the consolation title, Hawaii improved its season record to 9-3 going into a pair of tough WAC-opening road games this week at defending champion Utah State and Nevada.

 

Butler, last year's national runnerup, took the tourneytitle by topping  Washington State 84-68.

 

Hawaii opened with a 12-0 run and led by as many as 22 in the second half against Mississippi State, which was missing two key players who were suspended after engaging in a fist-fight in full view of fans and cameras at the Stan Sheriff Center.

 

Zane Johnson continued his hot shooting, leading the Bows with 19 points.  Hiram Thompson went 9-for-10 from the free-throw line and finished with 14. 

 

After opening the tourney with a loss to Florida State, the Bows rebounded with decisive wins over Utah and the battling Bulldogs.

 

UH sophomore Miah Ostrowski made his college hoops debut less than 24 hours after playing in the Hawaii Bowl.  The former Punahou two-sport star caught two passes for 72 yards against Tulsa. He didn't score in two minutes of action against Mississippi State.

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Hawaii hangs tough vs. superior Seminoles

By Fred Guzman

ESPN550.com

 

Given its problems contending with Florida's State's superiority in the paint and on boards, as well as its own inability to protect the basketball, Hawaii easily could have been blown out in last night's opening round of the Diamond Head Classic at the Stan Sheriff Center.

 

Instead, a 70-62 loss to the Seminoles almost represented a moral victory for an under-manned squad that used only seven players because of lingering injuries to senior starters Hiram Thompson and Bill Amis.

 

That UH stuck around as long as it did before Florida State began pulling away early in the second half was a tribute to the team's grittiness and the marksmanship of Zane Johnson and Bo Barnes. 

 

Johnson matched a season high with 24 points, including six 3-pointers, and Barnes scored all of his 17 in the second half.

 

But Hawaii couldn't overcome Florida State's 23 offensive rebounds and committing 24 turnovers.  As a result, the Seminoles will face Butler in tonight's 5 o'clock semifinal while the Bows will meet Utah in a 7:30 consolation game.

 

Butler, last season's NCAA runner-up, rode a 24-point effort by Mike Howard to beat Utah 74-62.

 

The tournament opened with a pair of blowout as Washington State routed Mississippi State 83-57 and No. 15 Baylor spanked San Diego 83-50 to set up their 1 p.m. semifinal.  Mississippi State and San Diego will meet at 11:30 a.m.

 

PREP ROUNDUP: It was a highly productive night for Lahainaluna athletes. 

 

It's talented boy's wrestling team easily captured top honors in the Maui Invitational Tournament at War Memorial Gym, out-pointing Iolani 203-160.  Kahuku won the girls' team title with 102 points, beating out Mililani's 92 and Lahainaluna's 86.

 

In basketball, the Lunas swept a pair of road games against Maui High.

 

TJ Rickard had 18 points and Luke Williams added 15 in a 57-58 win over the Sabers boys.  The fourth-ranked Lunas' girls again overwhelmed an MIL opponent with a 62-23 romp behind Maiki Viela's 18 points.

 

In soccer, Maui High moved past idle Baldwin into first place in the Division-I boy's standings by beating Kamehameha-Maui 3-1 behind a pair of goals by Terrance Sayers.

 

The Seabury Hall boys bounced back from a pair of recent losses with a 4-2 victory over Saint Anthony.  Willie Harris scored twice for the Spartans.   The Seabury girls blanked St. Anthony 5-0.

 

JUNIOR GOLF:  Five Maui athletes claimed titles in the US Kids Golf regional event held at the Kaanapali Royal Hawaiian course.  The champions were Cassy Isagawa, Justin Ngua, Kyeton Littel-Kamimoto, Kimberlie Miyamoto and Kirsten Ishikawa.

Monday, December 20, 2010

Seabury loses to Corona in tournament final

By Fred Guzman

 

Although Seabury Hall appears to be the class of its own league, the previously undefeated Spartans were in over their heads in Saturday's title game of the St. Anthony Invitational basketball tournament.

 

The Spartans, an Maui Interscholastic League Divistion-II team, beat traditional D-I power Baldwin for the second time in two weeks in Friday's semifinals.  But they were decisively beaten, 64-40, by Corona of California at War Memorial Gym.

 

Seabury dropped to 7-1 this season despite a 21-point performance by Phelan Pagano.

 

Baldwin beat Kealakehe 53-40 for third place, Hilo defeated king Kekaulike 61-48 for fifth, and Campbell topped St. Anthony 54-34 for seventh.

 

Meantime, the host Lunas beat Pitt Meadows of Canada 59-45 in the Lahainaluna Invitational.  In other games:  Socastee of South Carolina defeated Molokai 53-41, Mission Viejo of California routed Heritage Woods of Canada 73-27, and Maranatha of Washington beat Lakeside of California 68-53.

 

In MIL soccer, Keelan Ewaliko scored on a breakaway goal midway through the second half, lifting the Baldwin boys to a 1-0 victory over Seabury Hall and into first place in the league overall and D-I standings.

 

Amber-Lei Madriaga scored twice as the unbeaten Baldwin girls defeated Seabury 4-1. 

 

In other games:  Kekaulike's boys beat St. Anthony 2-0 on goals by Michael Ribao and Logan Bantilan.  Shelly Liburd registered a hat trick as the Lunas' girls defeated Molookai 8-0.  Tiana Lucas scored twice as Maui High's girls topped Hana 6-0.  Kekaulike's girls blanked St. Anthony 7-0.

Monday, December 13, 2010

UH coach McMackin deserves contract extension

By Fred Guzman

ESPN550.com

 

Following a 1-2 start after failing to reach a bowl game last year, there was growing discontent with Hawaii football coach Greg McMackin.

Fast forward to December, and the question now becomes:  How does the cash-strapped athletic department reward a coach who guided a team to a 10-3 record, a share of the Western Athletic Conference title, a No. 24 national ranking and a berth in the Dec. 24 Hawaii Bowl against Tulsa?

Honolulu Star-Advertiser columnist Dave Reardon, an admitted former critic, is now leading a campaign to extend McMackin's contract based on his 14-4 record since UH ended a six-game skid last season.

Granted, Hawaii acted in desperation and overpaid an untested Division-I head coach when it signed McMackin to a $1.1 million annual deal following June Jones's abrupt departure following UH's Sugar Bowl season.  McMackin's original five-year deal extends through next season.

In addition to the football teams recent on-field success, it should also be noted that all 28 of Hawaii's seniors or on track to graduate.

As Reardon notes, the question now becomes: "How do you reward McMackin when simple economics dictate you can't even afford to pay him what he's already getting? That's a tough one. Maybe a couple more years of job security."

I second that emotion.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

UH lands three on all-WAC first team

By Fred Guzman

ESPN550.com

 

The University of Hawaii was rewarded for a 10-3 record, finishing in a three-way tie for the conference championship and a No. 24 national ranking in the all-WAC balloting.

 

Three UH players – slotback Greg Salas, safety Mana Silva and linebacker Corey Paredes – received first-team honors, and another seven – including defensive tackle Kaniela Tuipulotu of Lahaina – were named to the second team.

 

Although he ranks first nationally in passing yardage, Hawaii's Bryant Moniz was a second-team pick behind another pair of exceptional quarterbacks.  Boise State's Kellen Moore and Nevada's Colin Kaepernick shared offensive player of the year honors.

 

Other UH players named to the second team were:  slotback Kealoha Pilares, running back Alex Green, offensive linemen Kupepa Letuli and Adrian Thomas, and kicker Scott Enors.

 

But the biggest slight came in the Coach of the Year voting.  Although guiding his team to unexpected success after being picked to finish seventh in pre-season polls, Greg McMackin was snubbed. 

 

The honor instead was accorded to Nevada's Chris Ault, although his team was projected to finish second, behind Boise State, in the pre-season polls.

 

HAWAII BOWL:  When Hawaii and Tulsa square off on Christmas Eve at Aloha Stadium, fans should be treated to plenty of fireworks. That's because this year's Hawaii Bowl matchup will feature two of the most productive offenses in the NCAA, combining for nearly 78 points per game.

 

Hawaii has the nation's top passing offense with an average of nearly 385 yards per game while ranking 10th in total offense at 487.8 and 12th in scoring at 38.3.  That explosive unit and a dramatically improved defensive group enabled UH to win nine of its last 10 outings.

 

The Golden Hurricane, meantime, ranks fifth in total offense with 503.5 yards and ninth in scoring with 39.6 points.  Tulsa compiled a 9-3 record, finishing second in Conference-USA's Western Division.

 

Hawaii's prowess was on display in Saturday's 59-23 rout of over-matched Nevada-Las Vegas as Moniz threw for four touchdowns and ran for two more.  Moniz is tied for the national lead in touchdown passes with 36.

 

His top two targets – Greg Salas and Kealoha Pilares – are among the leading receivers in the country.   Salas is first in reception yardage and second in total catches.  Pilares is third in TD catches.  Green is the national leader in yard per carry with 8.78.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Wahine crash out early in NCAA volleyball

By Fred Guzman

ESPN550.com

 

This was not the way things were supposed to end for the University of Hawaii women's volleyball team.

 

Not after being ranked third nationally as recently as two weeks ago and seemingly poised to make another run for a berth in the NCAA's Final Four.  Not after running off 23 straight victories that included sweeps of 17 straight matches against admittedly mediocre WAC opponents.

 

But Hawaii's season crumbled to a stunning and abrupt end on Friday night in a decisive 25-17, 25-11, 25-23 defeat to 11th-ranked host Washington.

 

The stunningly lopsided loss resulted in Hawaii finishing its season at 29-3, losing two of its last three. The Rainbow Wahine will not qualify for the regionals for only the second time since the NCAA tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1998.

 

The first crack in Hawaii's armor was exposed when the Wahine were the victims of a sweep of their own at the hands of Utah State in the WAC tournament final.

 

That loss resulted in the Rainbow Wahine falling to No. 7 in this week's national rankings and, more significantly, to being seeded No. 15 in the NCAA national tournament.

 

UH got off to balky start in Thursday's NCAA opener in Seattle, struggling in the first set before sweeping unheralded Big Sky champion Portland State 25-23, 25-19, 25-8.

 

Washington, which finished fifth in the far more competitive Pacific-10,  schooled Hawaii on Friday and now will next host Nebraska in the regional.  The Rainbow Wahine, meantime, are headed home to stay.  So, for that matter, is Utah State.  The Lady Aggies were swept by another Pacific-10 team, California.

 

All of which again goes to show that dominating the WAC, as UH has done for going on 15 years, does little to prepare team for a successful run at the national level.

Friday, December 3, 2010

Numbers don’t lie: LeBron James didn’t quit

By Fred Guzman

ESPN550.com

 

Take that, Cleveland.  You, too, LeBron-haters.

 

Scoring 38 points, including 24 in the third quarter before sitting out the entire final period, King James transformed The Return into The Rout.

 

His outburst, in the face of continuous jeers from his former adoring witnesses, led his new team, the Miami Heat, to a 118-90 romp past his old team, the Cleveland Cavaliers.

 

Say what you will about James, the young brother can play.

 

He demonstrated that in his first game back in Cleveland, where he spent seven spectacular seasons, carrying a team formerly known as the Cadavers to the NBA Finals in 2007 and league-best regular-season marks the next two years before defecting to Miami via free agency.

 

He also won back-to-back MVP awards along the way.

 

He left a crowd of 20,562 with nothing left to cheer except an occasional missed shot. He didn't miss many, finishing 15 of 25 from the field, to go with eight assists and five rebounds.

 

The loudest cheers reserved for Cavs owner Dan Gilbert, who ripped James after his decision, saying he quit on the Cavaliers during their season-ending playoff series with the Celtics last spring.

 

I did a little research, and LeBron averaged nearly 27 points and more than nine rebounds, seven assists and two steals during that six-game series.  You be the judge whether those numbers constitute "quitting."  To me, they reflect excellence.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Unbeaten Basket Bows embark on first trip

 

By Fred Guzman

ESPN550.com

 

As happy as fans are – and should be – about Hawaii's 5-0 start to the basketball season under new head coach Gib Arnold, the truth is that the Rainbows have compiled all of those wins at home against mediocre opponents.

 

That said, we'll get a better idea of just how good this overhauled team is in the next several of days as UH embarks on its first trip of the season, starting with tonight's game at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo followed by visit to BYU on Saturday. 

 

Although Cal Poly fits the profile of the middle-of-the-pack teams from mid-major conferences, Hawaii has been beating up, BYU is coming off a 30-6 season and features pre-season All-American guard Jimmer Fredette, who averaged 22.2 points per game last season.

 

Based on its 2-3 start, Cal Poly would seem to be just what the doctor ordered for a UH team seeking to end an 11-game road skid.  The Mustangs have lost to Division-II Cal State Monterey Bay and 73-57 to Montana State, whom the Bows recently beat 73-59.  Cal Poly also is coming off a road loss to Sacramento State.

 

Although almost all of the players on Arnold's revamped roster were not around at the time, the Mustangs beat the Bows 102-89 at the Stan Sheriff Center last season.  But guard Lorenzo Keller, who scored 31 against UH in that game, is gone as are many other key players for the Mustangs.

 

By comparison, UH has four healthy players – Hiram Thompson, Joston Thomas, Bo Barnes and Zane Johnson – averaging in double figures.  However, power forward Bill Amis – the team's top rebounder and shot-blocker – remains out with a foot injury.

 

CONFERENCE UPDATE:  The Honolulu Star-Advertiser is reporting that UH administrators are  actively engaged this week in putting the finishing touches on anticipated moves to the Mountain West Conference for football and the Big West for all other sports.

 

UH vice president Rockne Freitas and athletic director Jim Donovan headed a delegation that met with the Mountain West officials in Colorado.

 

The newspaper reported that Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson has had conversations with member presidents the past two days and held a conference call with conference athletic directors yesterday.

 

Much of those talks apparently revolved around Texas Christian's announced move Monday to the Big East and the Mountain West's  possible responses.

 

UH would be the 10th member of the MWC for the 2012-13 school year.

 

Meantime, UH confirmed that it has present requested information to the Big West in support of its proposed membership.  The Big West Council is scheduled to meet Dec. 8 to review submissions and is expected to make a recommendation to the Board of Directors, which is composed of member chancellors and presidents.