A K LEO T H E
FRIDAY, JAN. 31 to MONDAY, FEB. 3, 2014 VOLUME 109 ISSUE 48
Serving the students of the University of Hawai‘i a at M Mānoa. ān noa no oa o a.
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NICK HUTH Senior Staff Writer @NICKSHOOPS Many players have claimed to throw up prayers, in the form of a last-second shot that comes down to luck more often than skill. But for Keith Shamburger, that phrase took on a literal meaning one day removed from his aunt’s funeral. With two seconds remaining in the Rainbow Warriors’ game against UC Irvine last Saturday, Shamburger stared down a pair of defenders while launching an unlikely, buzzerbeating 3-point shot that forced overtime and allowed Hawai‘i to eventually win 90-86. Shamburger has led the Hawai‘i men’s basketball team this season to a 14-5 record. Yet, the junior point guard claimed that the prayer he launched on Saturday night was answered by the aunt he had lost a couple weeks ago. “She was a strong person,” Shamburger said. “She was the one that protected our whole family from many things.” Shamburger’s aunt, Gloria Twine, passed away about two weeks prior to the game against UC Irvine. Shamburger could not put into words the importance of his aunt to him and his family. Although Twine was deaf, she was influential for the point guard from San Jose State. Despite the late-game heroics by Shamburger against Irvine, the last few weeks have been difficult according to him and his teammates. “It just got real tough and I didn’t know what to do, but my coach and (Brandon) Spearman were right there with me, texting me every day, making sure I was good,” Shamburger said. “ They were saying the right words of encouragement.” Head coach Gib Arnold and senior guard Brandon Spearman spoke out in support of Shamburger shortly after the difficult loss of his aunt, which was also paired with two road losses to start Big West conference play. Despite the loss of his aunt during the road trip and a nagging hip injury, Sham-
G N I T O O SH R E Y A ON A PR
burger started for the Warriors in both of their games against conference foes. The wounded Warrior’s struggles off the court were echoed by his. During the road trip, Shamburger scored three points on 1-of-12 shooting from the fi eld. But his poor performances did not deter him, primarily due to the support of his teammates. “It got us closer,” Shamburger said. “I’m able to trust those guys more. They had my back this whole week.” Shamburger and the Warriors were able to bounce back from their adversity to defeat a struggling UC Riverside team 100 - 69 at home, as well as a historic 90 73 road win against UC Davis that was the largest road margin of victory for the team in the past 11 years. The win over UC Irvine was the first defeat that the Anteaters were given in Big West conference play, and it allowed the ‘Bows to steal the spot as the winningest team in the conference. Bouncing back from his struggles in the previous week, Shamburger earned the Big West Player of the Week award due in large part to his performance during the weekend. The Los Angeles native scored 17 points along with a career-high 11 assists to lead the Warriors past the Anteaters in front of a sold-out crowd in Irvine. The range of emotions has not gone unnoticed by Shamburger, who claims to have changed during the past few weeks. “It just showed me that you can’t take anything for granted at all, and at any day anything can be taken from you,” Shamburger said. “You just have to love the people that you love, and trust me, this showed me to really value a lot of things in my life.”
UPCOMING GAME Hawai`i vs Cal State Northridge Saturday, 7 p.m.
SHANE GRACE / KA LEO O HAWAI‘I
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Report
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5 -9 f t. 3-5 f t. 0 -3 f t. 1-3 f t.
6 -10 + f t. 5-9 f t. 0 -3 f t. 1-3 f t.
10 -2 0 f t. 8-15+ f t. 0 -2 f t. 1-3 f t.