Trouble in Paradise

THE NUMBERS: UNLV shot just 38 percent from the floor Thursday, but Hawaii, which was averaging just under 50 percent from the floor going into the game, shot just 41 percent. "You've got to

Friday, Feb. 7, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

HONOLULU -- Ninety-nine times out of 100, Sunshine Smith is going to make an uncontested layup. And even the one time he missed, the ball was in before spinning out.

Such seems to be UNLV's fate against Hawaii.

After running uphill all night and dealing with double-digit deficits while being unable to string together a decent offensive run, the Rebels staged a furious rally in the final minute Thursday night and were on the verge of extending the game to overtime.

But when Smith went to the basket all alone to tie the game at 66, his layup went in and out at the buzzer and the Rainbows escaped with a 66-64 win, much to the relief of the 7,207 who showed up at the Special Events Arena.

"I couldn't believe it didn't go in," said UNLV coach Bill Bayno of Smith's uncontested try to tie. "That ball was in the rim."

UNLV was going to get a chance to at least tie it when Alika Smith missed the first of two free throws with 5.2 seconds left after Damian Smith was forced to foul him following a turnover by Kevin James.

Hawaii called a timeout after Smith missed the first free throw, which gave Bayno a chance to set up a final play. He took all of his big men out, including center Keon Clark, who had scored a game-high 22 points, and went with all guards.

The play was to get the ball to Sunshine, let him speed-dribble into the frontcourt and look for a shot or an open teammate.

"Our thinking was to look for the best shot we could get," Bayno said. "We got exactly what we wanted -- an uncontested layup."

Smith said: "I saw the opening and I was just trying to get there. I wasn't really surprised they didn't try and stop me. But I wasn't thinking about anything but getting to the basket."

Smith then paused and shook his head.

"I can't believe I missed. That shot was in."

It was. Then it wasn't. And of the 41 missed field-goal attempts by the Rebels, the last one will stick in the minds of the players, coaches and fans for years to come.

What also shouldn't be lost on anyone was UNLV's tenacity that gave the Rebels the chance to get back in it. They had gone brain dead in the final 27 seconds of the first half and Hawaii took advantage by scoring seven unanswered points.

Prior to the minirun, it was a two-point game and UNLV was right there. But Seth Sundberg, Hawaii's hulking 7-foot-1 center, slammed home an alley-oop dunk with three seconds to go. And after the Rebels turned it over on the inbounds pass, Sundberg caught a lob pass in the key with .6 to go and scored as the buzzer sounded.

A two-point game suddenly became a nine-point advantage for the Rainbows and the Rebels were going to be running uphill the rest of the way. Hawaii would lead by as many as 14 in the second half and the lead was always near double digits heading into the final minute.

"We weren't going to quit," said Damian Smith. "We learned from TCU that we can come back."

UNLV struggled to get an extended spurt going. The Rebels could never get more than six in a row before the offense would stall out.

It took what seemed like forever. But the Rebels did indeed make their run. Trailing 64-56 with 2:09 to play, Clark got UNLV going with a putback slam of a Tyrone Nesby miss with just under two minutes to go.

Hawaii, which made just two field goals in the final six minutes, tried to survive at the foul line. And the Rainbows did. But barely.

Anthony Carter made just one of two with 1:08 to go, which gave Hawaii a 65-58 edge. But Damian Smith connected on a 3-pointer over Alika Smith with 57 seconds remaining to cut it to four. Then Carter, for some inexplicable reason, tried to beat four Rebels down the lane with a little individual transition game.

The ball was stripped by Clark. Sunshine led a 3-on-1 break, found Damian perched in the right corner, got him the ball and Damian nailed his second straight trey. Now it was a one-point game with 47.6 seconds left. Because of the discrepancy on the 35-second shot clock, UNLV was going to get one more crack at it.

"We knew if we could just get some stops, we could get back in it," said Damian Smith.

Hawaii was deliberate in its half-court set. And when the Rebels overloaded to one side, Carter found himself wide open at the arc. But his 3-pointer was long and the Rebels got the rebound with 19 seconds left.

Now they had a chance to win it. James hustled into the front court and tried to penetrate in an attempt to draw a double-team. Hawaii's Smith was with James, but did not follow him to the basket. Instead, he stayed with Damian Smith and when James got himself up in the air, he didn't know Damian was covered.

"I saw we had people there (in the middle) so I was trying to cover the gap," Alika Smith said. "I guess I was in the right place."

James said: "I never saw him. I thought he was coming to me, so I was looking to kick it out to Damian. It was a bad play on my part."

But when Smith was subsequently fouled and made only one of two from the line, his heads-up defensive play had lost a little luster. And when Sunshine was heading to the hoop uncontested, Alika Smith figured he had a shot at being the goat, not the hero.

"I thought it was in," he said. "But I'll take it."

The other Smith won't.

"Man, that's got to be the luckiest team ever. No doubt," he said of the Rainbows, who maintained a share of the Pacific Division lead with Fresno State at 7-2 and improved to 15-4 overall. "We knew the game wasn't over. We just had to keep playing through it."

Bayno said it's another learning experience for his young team, which fell to 5-4 in the Pacific and 13-7 overall heading into Saturday's game at San Diego State.

"This team has shown immaturity at times and we had a lack of concentration," he said. "But this didn't deserve to happen. We worked too hard to get back in it."

Hoop du jour

* SUN DOESN'T START: Hawaii's off-the-court problems of this week have been well-documented as the school suspended three players for violation of the school's student-athlete code. But UNLV had a discipline problem this week, albeit a minor one, as senior guard Sunshine Smith missed a weight-training session. Smith didn't start, but he played 27 minutes and finished with 10 points. "It was no big deal," coach Bill Bayno said of the disciplinary move. "It was a minor violation of team policy, it's over and we've moved on."