Hiram Thompson was appreciative of his first career Western Athletic Conference player of the week award. True to character, however, the Hawaii senior point guard had other things on his mind.

"It’s a great honor to be recognized individually, but I’m more excited about our two victories and how we performed as a team," Thompson said yesterday, soon after the WAC announced the award.

Thompson, the Rainbow Warriors’ only returning starter from last season, was masterful in UH’s first two games of the season. The 6-foot-3 tri-captain posted a career-high 21 points with six rebounds and four assists in a 77-59 win over Montana State on Friday, then followed by helping his team close out an 84-70 decision over Cal State Fullerton on Saturday.

In the latter game, he had all but one of his 18 points after halftime, including nine during the decisive 14-0 UH run to seal it. He also had seven assists against one turnover and is shooting 66.7 percent from the field overall — including 5-for-7 (71.4 percent) on 3-pointers.

"I wish I could bottle that up and take it with me for the rest of my career," UH coach Gib Arnold marveled of Thompson on Sunday.

UH played a late-starting, ESPN-televised contest against Central Michigan last night as part of the network’s College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon, a period of 25 straight hours of college basketball. The game, which was also the finale of the 47th Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic, ended after the print edition deadline.

Visit www.staradvertiser.com today for a report on the game.