March 11, 1998
HONOLULU (AP) - Anthony Carter scored 28 points, handed off eight assists and grabbed six rebounds and Alika Smith added 22 points Wednesday night to lead Hawaii to a 90-73 victory over Arizona State in an opening round game of the NIT.
Hawaii (20-8) will host Gonzaga, a 69-55 winner over Wyoming, in the second on either Monday or Tuesday.
Carter led the Rainbows' onslaught as he made 11-of-15 shots while Smith went 8-for-15. Hawaii was 37-of-67 (55 percent) from the floor and also had a decided edge in rebounds, 40-30, with Eric Ambrozich picking off 12.
The Rainbows, helped by poor early shooting by Arizona State, started slowly and gradually picked up momentum midway through the first half to pull away from the shorthanded Sun Devils (18-14).
It was 44-34 at the half and a 23-7 run over a 5:30 span in the second half turned the game into a rout.
ASU, with only seven scholarship players, got a strong performance from Jeremy Veal, the Pac-10's leading scorer. He finished with 30 points.