Hawaii stuns Michigan State

Spartans endure 84-62 loss prior to Maui tourney

? Hawaii made a short side trip a long day for No. 4 Michigan State.

Matt Lojeski and Julian Sensley each scored 20 points for the Rainbow Warriors in an 84-62 victory that ended the Spartans’ streak of season-opening wins at 28.

“I’m at a loss for words,” Sensley said. “In the world of basketball, anybody can be beaten on any night.”

Michigan State, the first member of the preseason Top Ten to lose this season, was hampered by poor shooting and leg cramps. The Spartans stopped off on Oahu on the way to Maui Invitational that starts Monday and will see them play three games in as many days.

“The good news is, it only gets tougher,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. “We fly out tonight.”

Michigan State players, from left, Maurice Ager, Paul Davis and Marquise Gray watch the closing seconds of the Spartans' loss. Hawaii won, 84-62, Saturday in Honolulu.

It was the biggest home victory for the Rainbow Warriors (1-0) since they beat No. 2 Kansas University in the finals of the 1997 Rainbow Classic. And the crowd of 8,802 got louder as the lead got larger.

Lojeski, a junior-college transfer playing in his first Division I game, was 6-for-8 from three-point range, and his last one capped a 14-2 run that gave Hawaii a 70-52 lead with 6:03 left.

“It was special having this as an opening game, and I just did my role,” Lojeski said. “We knew we had to come out and make a statement, and we made a big statement.”

Maurice Ager had 16 points for the Spartans, coming off their fourth Final Four appearance in seven years. But he was one of four Michigan State players affected by leg cramps.

Paul Davis, who had 12 points and 11 rebounds, left the game for a second and final time because of cramps with 13:27 to play. Ager, Shannon Brown and Drew Neitzel all had to leave the game at some point because of the cramps. Brown had to be removed on a stretcher with 6:36 left because of the intense pain.

“He was cramping from his neck to his feet,” Izzo said. He was upset with fans behind the Michigan State bench who were booing and yelling for Brown to be dragged off the court so the game could continue.

“That’s the maddest I’ve ever been as a coach in college,” he said. “Let’s just leave it at that. If we won, I’d have plenty to say but I don’t want to come across as a sore loser.”

Izzo admitted the Spartans had a chance in the second half.

“We cut it to six and then didn’t come through,” he said. “It was chaos, a MASH unit after that. I’ve never seen anything like that.”

Davis said the players drank “way more” water than usual.

“Once it started, it spread,” he said of the cramping.

The cramps so affected the Spartans that for a good portion of the final 10 minutes there were four freshmen on the floor at the same time.

No. 1 Duke 84, Davidson 55

Durham, N.C. – J.J. Redick started a rally late in the first half and finished with 29 points, leading top-ranked Duke over Davidson.

Redick shot 10-for-18, including 4-for-6 from three-point range as the Blue Devils (3-0) took a break from the NIT Season Tip-Off to win its season opener.

It’s the 19th straight victory for Duke in the series, and the 28th in 29 outings in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Davidson’s only victory in Durham came in coach Mike Krzyzewski’s second season.

No. 7 Louisville 78, Tennessee-Martin 61

Louisville, Ky. – Juan Palacios had 16 points and 11 rebounds to lead No. 7 Louisville past Tennessee-Martin in the season opener for both teams. Taquan Dean had a poor shooting day but still finished with 18 points for Louisville.

UC Irvine 79, No. 13 Stanford 63

Stanford, Calif. – Ross Schraeder scored 19 points, and UC Irvine used an impressive shooting performance and hustle to shock No. 13 Stanford in the Cardinal’s season opener.

No. 18 UCLA 56, Delaware State 37

Los Angeles – Cedric Bozeman scored 15 points, and Arron Afflalo added 12 to help No. 18 UCLA beat Delaware State. Freshman reserve Michael Roll added nine points for the injury-ravaged Bruins (3-0), who with two freshmen and a sophomore in their starting five opened the game on a 13-0 run and never trailed.

No. 22 Nevada 82, Sacramento State 74

Reno, Nev. – Nick Fazekas scored 28 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to help No. 22 Nevada beat Sacramento State. Marcellus Kemp had nine of his 15 points in the final 3:15.