Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Hawai'i
Men's Basketball Falls to Hawai`i
1/13/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan 14, 2003
HONOLULU (AP) - Michael Kuebler scored 21 points in the first half and Carl English picked up the scoring in the second half with 17 points Monday night to lead Hawaii into a first-place tie with Fresno State in the Western Athletic Conference with an 88-77 victory over the Bulldogs.
Kuebler matched his season-high with 29 points, while English, the WAC's leading scorer, finished with 30. The Bulldogs (11-3, 4-1 WAC) were led by Damon Jackson with 21 points while Noel Felix and Terry Pettis each added 14.
Kuebler got the Rainbow Warriors (11-2, 4-1) -- which extended their home court winning streak to 22 -- off to an early start by hitting 6-of-9 from 3-point range.
Hawaii held a 5-point lead with 2:55 left in the half when Kuebler hit three long-range shots -- one of which came at the buzzer to end the first half -- to help make it a 42-35 lead.
After being held to seven points in the first half, English knocked down a 3-pointer to open a double-digit lead early in the second half. That began a torrid stanza for English and a near-perfect half for Hawai`i. The Rainbow Warriors shot 14-of-17 in the second half and missed only one field goal in the last 16 minutes of the game. They were paced by English, who hit everything he took in the final 20 minutes, going 7-of-7 from the floor and 6-of-6 at the free throw line.
"We knew how dangerous Carl English was," said head coach Ray Lopes. "He was feeling it tonight. Every time [the ball] left his hands, it looked like it was going in. And our defense just wasn't very good."
Fresno State's week-long road trip continues Thursday at SMU (6-7, 1-2 WAC). The game begins at 5 p.m. PST and will be televised by KFRE WB 59 (cable 5).
