No doubt time remained on the clock. Just enough. There was 1/10th of a second left when D.J. Richardson launched that corner 3-pointer.
That shot won the game for Illinois.
It wasn’t, though, what lost it for Hawaii.
In all the excitement of the 78-77 overtime thriller Friday at the Stan Sheriff Center, the simple thing to say is that the Illini made one final big play and time ran out on the Rainbows.
It was easy to overlook or ignore the real reason UH came out on the short end. It wasn’t hard to figure it out though.
Hawaii lost because it failed to execute what should be one of the easiest fundamentals in the game. It didn’t make the most open shot that exists.
It lost because of that oft-uttered lament of losing coaches as they shake their heads right before ripping up the final stat sheet.
"We lost it at the line."
In the last few minutes of regulation and in overtime, UH made just four of 10 free throws. And the six misses included the front end of two 1-and-1 opportunities.
That means the Rainbows had 12 potential points and did not cash in on eight when the game was tight, after they frittered away the double-digit lead they’d held since midway through the first half.
The math is simple. They didn’t even have to make 50 percent of their free throws down the stretch to win it.
But less than 55 percent for the game and 40 percent in crunch time won’t cut it if this team is to reach its considerable potential.
Every Rainbow who went to the line Friday missed at least one shot.
Vander Joaquim saved the Warriors with his buzzer-beater in regulation, two 3-pointers and 11 rebounds. But he also cost UH by missing five of his nine free throws.
Point guard Jace Tavita played well in the first three games against lesser competition. But it’s obvious he must improve vastly on his 1-for-7 from the line for the season. The question is how much better can he get, since the track record shows 40 percent (10-for-25) from the line in three seasons at Utah. That’s not even close to acceptable for a big man, much less your primary ball-handler.
It’s gotten to where opponents rush to foul the Hawaii point guard before he can pass. It’s supposed to work the other way around.
YOU MIGHT be tempted to believe it was turnovers that killed Hawaii on Friday as much as bricks from the line. That might happen on some other night. But while allowing a 20-6 difference in points scored off of miscues certainly isn’t good, it was offset by UH’s 19-5 edge on second-chance points. And, in the overtime, Hawaii owned the points off of turnovers edge 5-1.
Of course, much credit goes to Illinois. Coming back from 13 down at halftime on the road takes a lot of heart, even if you’re from a power conference and enter the game as a 6- to 8-point favorite.
This is not a great Illinois team, but it served as a good test for Hawaii, now 3-1. A loss like this is hard to take, but in November it can be instructive and improve your season, whereas in March it will simply end it.
Whatever the free-throw drills are in practice, my guess is coach Gib Arnold will double the dose.
The Rainbows are a very fun and exciting team, but they will go much farther if they make their visits to the line less adventurous.
Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783.
