FORT MYERS, Fla. » Misfired 3-pointers.
Rushed shots.
Slowed footwork leading to fouls.
Out-tipped on rebounds.
Evidence of a tired University of Hawaii men’s basketball team showed itself in a variety of ways in an 88-73 loss to San Francisco in the first round of the Gulf Coast Showcase at Germain Arena on Monday night.
Rainbow Warriors players Roderick Bobbitt and Aaron Valdes talked about playing harder and smarter and didn’t want to use fatigue as an excuse.
It wasn’t an excuse. It was just a fact.
"There’s no question they were tired," San Francisco coach Rex Walters said. "We were checking flights from Hawaii to Florida. They were really tough, they played their (butts) off, but fatigue played a role. They traveled a full day-and-a half to get there. They should be proud of their effort.
"They wanted to win. We were fortunate to win."
After a stirring 74-70 win over Pittsburgh on Friday night in Maui, Hawaii players, coaches and staff took a red-eye flight as part of a 13-hour trip.
The Rainbow Warriors arrived in Dallas around 6 a.m. Sunday. After a three-hour layover, they caught the next leg of the trip to Fort Myers, Fla.
With his team already having played a handful of games since Nov. 15 and three more in this event, Taylor didn’t practice Thursday or Sunday and did just a 30-minute walk-through Monday.
Still, he felt his team didn’t have a lot of legs and he said it showed mentally as well as physically.
"I think we started off fine," he said. "But it got to the point they started pushing it and we started to make bad decisions on offense and they hurt us in transition."
Valdes, who led Hawaii with 18 points, added, "I think it plays more on your mind. We tried to stay off our feet and sleep as much as we could on the flight. In those seats, it’s not that easy."
Whether it was a slippery floor, tight rims, depth perception or just bad shooting, the first three games of the Gulf Coast Showcase saw teams struggling to score.
Not Hawaii (4-2) and San Francisco (3-0).
In the first five minutes, the teams combined for five 3-pointers. The Dons had a height advantage but had problems with the ‘Bows’ quickness.
"Hawaii’s athleticism is terrific," Florida Gulf Coast coach Joe Dooley said.
"They gave Pitt fits."
San Francisco took a 21-17 lead, but Hawaii went to a press that caused turnovers, got the Dons out of sync and helped the ‘Bows go on a 9-0 run.
But Taylor knew he couldn’t keep pressing.
"We can’t do that," he said. "We can’t push it like that defensively. We don’t have enough bodies."
San Francisco recovered and scored a couple of late hoops to go up 34-30 at halftime.
"I wasn’t crazy about our execution," Walters said. "We’ve been very good vs. presses, Hawaii knows that. We just weren’t doing what we needed to do. Once we got in rhythm, I thought we would be able to break through."
The Dons used an 11-2 run in the second half to stretch a 38-37 lead to 49-39.
The ‘Bows switched from zone to man-to-man and chipped into that deficit They did draw within 61-58 on Valdes’ free throws, but that was their last run.
Literally.
While San Francisco got layups and free throws, Hawaii started panicking and putting up long 3s and quick shots.
"We had bad shot selection and we turned the ball over a lot," Valdes said. "When you’re tired you have to keep your mind fresh and play smart. We tried to play smart and take care of the ball. We don’t have the tallest team."
San Francisco built the lead to as many as 19 points, 85-66. The Dons made nine of 20 3-pointers, shot 47.5 percent overall (29-61) and had a 51-31 rebound average.
Meanwhile, eight of Hawaii’s players had three or more fouls.
"We might be the only team in the nation to have played six games already," Bobbitt said. "But we lost this games ourselves. We didn’t box out and they got too many second chances and too many 3s.
"It was not our night tonight. But we’ll get back at it tomorrow."
SAN FRANCISCO 88, HAWAII 73
RAINBOW WARRIORS (4-2)
| |
min |
fg-a |
ft-a |
rb |
pf |
pts |
| Nevels |
22 |
3-12 |
2-2 |
4 |
3 |
8 |
| Bobbitt |
32 |
3-8 |
3-5 |
3 |
3 |
10 |
| Webster-Chan |
28 |
3-9 |
0-0 |
4 |
3 |
8 |
| Valdes |
27 |
6-9 |
5-6 |
3 |
3 |
18 |
| Thomas |
26 |
2-5 |
8-9 |
5 |
4 |
13 |
| Fleming |
23 |
2-7 |
0-0 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
| Filipovich |
2 |
1-2 |
0-0 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
| Jawato |
2 |
0-0 |
0-0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Enos |
2 |
0-1 |
0-0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Smith |
19 |
1-4 |
4-8 |
1 |
3 |
6 |
| Jovanovic |
16 |
1-3 |
0-0 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
| Stepteau |
2 |
0-0 |
0-0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| TEAM |
|
|
|
5 |
| Totals |
200 |
22-60 |
22-30 |
31 |
29 |
73 |
DONS (3-0)
|
min |
fg-a |
ft-a |
rb |
pf |
pts |
| Glover |
25 |
5-9 |
2-4 |
8 |
4 |
15 |
| Pinkins |
31 |
4-11 |
11-14 |
12 |
2 |
19 |
| Tollefsen |
32 |
5-10 |
0-1 |
8 |
1 |
11 |
| Robertson |
19 |
0-0 |
2-3 |
0 |
4 |
2 |
| Derksen |
30 |
7-13 |
4-8 |
5 |
3 |
21 |
| Clemons |
4 |
1-2 |
0-0 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
| Hilliard |
12 |
2-4 |
0-0 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
| Ofoegbu |
3 |
0-0 |
0-0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
| Christiansen |
6 |
1-1 |
0-0 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
| Adams |
11 |
2-4 |
0-0 |
0 |
1 |
6 |
| Hoffmann |
2 |
0-1 |
0-0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
| Ferrari |
7 |
1-1 |
0-1 |
0 |
4 |
2 |
| Watson |
19 |
1-5 |
2-4 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
| TEAM |
|
|
|
11 |
| Totals |
200 |
29-61 |
21-35 |
51 |
26 |
88 |
Key — min: minutes played; fg-a: field goals made-attempted; ft-a: free throws made-attempted; rb: rebounds; pf: personal fouls; pts: total points.
Halftime — San Francisco 34, Hawaii 30
3-point goals — Hawaii 7-21 (Webster-Chan 2-5, Thomas 1-1, Valdes 1-2, Filipovich 1-2, Bobbitt 1-3, Fleming 1-4, Nevels 0-4). San Francisco 9-20 (Glover 3-3, Derksen 3-6, Adams 2-4, Tollefsen 1-4, Pinkins 0-1, Hilliard 0-1, Watson 0-1). Steals — Hawaii 6 (Valdes 2, Smith 2, Bobbitt, Webster-Chan). San Francisco 7 (Tollefsen 3, Pinkins 2, Glover, Derksen). Turnovers — Hawaii 16 (Fleming 4, Webster-Chan 2, Smith 2, Jovanovic 2, Nevels 2, Bobbitt 2, Filipovich, Team). San Francisco 14 (Watson 5, Ferrari 2, Christiansen 2, Derksen 2, Tollefsen 2, Pinkins). Assists — Hawaii 9 (Bobbitt 3, Nevels 2, Webster-Chan, Smith, Jawato, Filipovich). San Francisco 14 (Glover 4, Tollefsen 3, Watson 2, Pinkins 2, Robertson 2, Derksen). Blocked shots — Hawaii 3 (Jovanovic 2, Valdes). San Francisco 5 (Tollefsen 2, Robertson 2, Derksen). Technical fouls — San Francisco 1 (Glover). Hawaii none. Officials — Duke Edsall, John Hampton, J.B. DeRosa. A — not reported.
