’Bows pick up first road win

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SAN JOSE, Calif. » The Hawaii basketball team continued its spell over San Jose State yesterday, earning a split of its first road trip of the Western Athletic Conference season with an 85-79 victory at The Event Center.

Hawaii    San Jose St. 85 79 Next Up vs. Nevada on Saturday

Matt Gibson scored 18 points and dished out eight assists for the third straight game to lead the Rainbow Warriors as Hawaii (5-9 overall, 1-1 WAC) extended its winning streak against the Spartans to 10 straight meetings.

Riley Luettgerodt and Bobby Nash finished with 14 points each and Jared Dillinger had 13, going 3-for-3 from 3-point range as the Rainbows shot 52.6 percent from the field. Luettgerodt made three free throws in the final 15 seconds to seal the game.

Hawaii led by as many as 17 early in the second half and held off a late comeback by the Spartans (6-7, 0-2) to pick up its first road win of the season.

Freshman guard Justin Graham led the Spartans with a game-high 29 points, going 7-for-9 from the field and 14-for-17 from the free-throw line.

The Rainbows return to the Stan Sheriff Center on Saturday to begin a three-game homestand against defending WAC regular-season champion Nevada.

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SAN JOSE » Hawaii's Adhar Mayen cradled the rebound and waited for the final buzzer. When it came, it was a relief.

The Rainbow Warriors have certainly had bigger wins over the years than yesterday's 85-79 victory over San Jose State. And they've certainly had prettier ones.

But when you have a flight into town like Hawaii did on Friday, then watch a big lead nearly slip away in the final minutes with your point guard on the bench.

Well, there's relief, and then there's relief.

First, the plane ride. The Rainbows were scheduled to fly into San Jose from Utah on Friday morning. A series of storms was battering the Bay Area and the final half-hour of the flight was filled with turbulence.

"The plane was rocking back and forth," senior point guard Matt Gibson said.

Then, the pilot came over the loudspeaker and said the plane would take a detour to Fresno, refuel, then try again to land in San Jose.

Head coach Bob Nash, who's been on his share of planes over the years, said that using the word "try" is always disconcerting.

"Heck, yeah," Nash said, when asked if he was nervous. "You only have one chance!"

Fortunately, the plane landed safely. Which brings us to yesterday's game. Hawaii broke out like a team given a second life, using a 10-0 run midway through the first half to build a 43-29 halftime advantage. The Rainbows (5-9, 1-1 Western Athletic Conference) shot lights out in the first half, making 16 of 28 (57 percent) including four of their six 3-pointers.

"They were setting really effective screens," San Jose freshman guard Justin Graham said. "They were just knocking down some wide-open shots."

Said Nash of his team's offense: "Our last two games, we scored 80 points. We've been going back to basics, just running it and making it work."

To its credit, San Jose State (6-7, 0-2) didn't just roll over. The Spartans came out in the second half and fought Hawaii every step of the way. The Rainbows stayed in control for the most part, but Graham scored 17 of his career-high 29 points in the second half.

"He didn't do it with the jump shots," Gibson said of Graham. "He was just strong in the lane and drawing fouls."

Then, with 1 minute, 12 seconds remaining, Gibson picked up his fifth foul, a foul Nash called "stupid." At that moment, Hawaii led 78-66. Mac Peterson's two free throws for the Spartans started a quick 9-2 run. Suddenly, it was 80-75 with 33 seconds left.

"That was a big factor," Graham said of Gibson fouling out. "He's their primary ball-handler. With us pressing, it helped a lot."

But the Rainbows had just enough to hold on. Riley Luettgerodt made three free throws in the final 16 seconds to help seal the victory.

Gibson had a strong game when he was in there, scoring 18 points and handing out eight assists. Hawaii had four players in double-figures, with Bobby Nash and Luettgerodt each scoring 14 and Jared Dillinger adding 13.

Tim Pierce, Chris Oakes and DaShawn Wright each scored 11 for the Spartans. San Jose State coach George Nessman said his team has been struggling behind Graham.

"We're putting an awful lot on a freshman to be our best player," Nessman said. "We'd prefer not to put that much burden on him. We need some consistent scoring from somebody else."

As for the Rainbows, Nessman said he doesn't put too much stock in that 4-8 nonconference record -- the first losing record in nonconference play since 1998-99.

"I think Hawaii's record is more a factor of having Gibson out earlier in the year," he said.

Gibson missed the first four games of the season with a knee injury. Later, center Stephen Verwers broke a leg -- he will miss the rest of the season.

That would seem to make a gutty win on the road a big deal, but Gibson said it's even simpler than that.

"It's always important on the road," he said. "Any game we can get is important."