Tuesday, March 18, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
Hey, nobody said it was going to be easy. Especially with so much riding on the outcome.
Not when you give Hawaii nine lives and allow a tenacious Rainbows squad to keep hanging around. All it does is allow you to flirt with death.
And like the proverbial alley cat, Hawaii refused to die easily Monday night at the Thomas & Mack Center.
It took overtime, a disparity of 25 free throws, clutch shooting from Tyrone Nesby, great defense from Sunshine Smith and the help of 12,820 leather-lunged fans for UNLV to extend its season at least one more game and finally put Hawaii away 89-80 in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament.
With the win, UNLV (22-9) faces Arkansas Wednesday at Fayetteville for the right to go to the NIT Final Four at New York's Madison Square Garden. The host Razorbacks defeated Pittsburgh 76-71 Monday to advance to the quarterfinals.
The Rebels left on an overnight flight for Tulsa soon after the game and arrived in Fayetteville early today for Wednesday's 6:30 p.m. game, which will be televised on ESPN.
It took virtually everything UNLV had in its arsenal to put Hawaii away. The Rainbows were looking for a three-game sweep after beating the Rebels twice by a combined total of three points. But this time, they came up short.
"We didn't have to kill them," center Keon Clark said. "We just had to hurt them enough. The key was everyone played hard and we never stopped working."
Whether it was Clark with 22 points and 15 rebounds, Nesby with a game-high 26 points, Sunshine Smith shutting down Alika Smith by limiting him to just a field goal after 14 first-half points or Warren Rosegreen setting the tempo early with his physical and emotional play, UNLV got contributions from just about everyone who earned playing time from coach Bill Bayno.
And that's what was needed to defeat the Rainbows, who were shorthanded because of an injury to 7-foot-2 center Seth Sundberg (ruptured spleen) and suspensions of two reserves for violation of school policy. Somehow, Hawaii never let UNLV run away and it was the Rebels who seemed to be running uphill most of the night.
"I knew it would be this way," Bayno said. "I knew it would be close. Any time two teams play three games, it's a dogfight.
"But our guys found a way to get it done. Sunshine was tremendous defensively shutting down Smith. Tyrone stepped up and hit some big shots and we were able to make our free throws at the end."
Despite a huge edge in trips to the line, the Rebels never fully took advantage of the opportunity. They could have put the game away in regulation but missed 5 of 9 attempts over the final eight minutes, forcing OT.
But the Rainbows weren't leaving without a fight. Each time UNLV threatened to pull away, Hawaii responded. It was Eric Ambrozich hitting jumpers en route to a career-high 22 points or Micah Kroger making layups or Anthony Carter finding open teammates underneath. Carter finished with nine assists and 12 points before fouling out midway through overtime.
"We played as hard as we could," said Alika Smith, fighting back tears as he spoke. "Right up to the last second and that's the way it has been all season."
Coach Riley Wallace said he couldn't be prouder of his team, which finished 21-8.
"No one expected anything from this team at the start of the season and they went out and proved everyone wrong," he said. "These kids did everything I asked and I'm very proud of them."
The challenges came early and often, and Hawaii responded each time. With the Rainbows trying to find their legs and Wallace yelling, "Wake up!" UNLV had a golden opportunity to seize control early. But an initial 10-5 advantage quickly disappeared as Alika Smith was finding the range.
Hawaii led by as many as four as Ambrozich added 12 of his points. The Rainbows shot 61 percent from the field in the first half as virtually everything they threw up went in.
It took a wild finish for UNLV to regain the lead at halftime as Damian Smith collected a loose ball in the key and his scoop shot hung on the rim at the buzzer before dropping through to give the Rebels a 44-43 lead.
That basket gave him 10 points at intermission as Damian Smith tried to make up the ground he lost trying to guard Alika Smith, whose 14 first-half points came mostly at the former Chaparral High star's expense.
The Rebels, however, couldn't gain the momentum early in the second half. Hawaii always answered and led 67-63 with just less than seven minutes to play.
But Clark made a great double-clutch bank shot in the paint, got fouled by Danny Furlong and sank the ensuing free throw to put UNLV back up 68-67. After Hawaii answered yet again with Ambrozich and Furlong connecting, it was Nesby's turn to keep UNLV in it.
He buried a 3-pointer from the left corner with 2:47 to go to put UNLV up 73-72. Then he hit a running scoop layup to make it 75-74 after Carter had connected from the top of the key.
When Sunshine Smith missed the first of two free throws with 1:42 left, it opened the door for OT as Furlong put back Carter's miss to tie it at 76. UNLV had one last chance to win in regulation, but by the time Kevin James got the Rebels into the offense, there was virtually no room to adjust and Sunshine Smith forced an 18-footer that was off with 4.5 seconds left.
Clark corralled the loose ball at the right elbow. He appeared to get hacked by Carter, but no call was made, as he tried unsuccessfully to get off a shot as the horn sounded.
It took some big plays by Clark, including a putback of a missed Nesby free throw, to finally seal Hawaii's fate. UNLV made 5 of its last 6 free throws in the final 34.9 seconds of OT to end the Rainbows' NIT run and keep hope alive for UNLV's Garden party.
"No mater what it took, we had to get this one," said Rosegreen, who had 12 points and eight rebounds in his final home appearance. "We know they cost us the NCAA. But we're going on and they're going home."
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