ASSOCIATED PRESS LaTech's Donell Allick drove to the basket against Hawaii's Bobby Nash yesterday.

Millsap spells doom
for UH

The LaTech forward has 29
points and 13 rebounds

RUSTON, La. » Paul Millsap reached his point and rebound averages yesterday -- in the first half -- and Louisiana Tech pulled out a close win over Hawaii in a game typical of the tightly contested series between the teams.

Millsap scored 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds before halftime on his way to a game-high 29 points and 13 boards, and made a free throw with 4 seconds left to give Louisiana Tech a 71-70 Western Athletic Conference victory over the Rainbow Warriors at the Thomas Assembly Center.

"Man, that guy's a monster," Hawaii guard Matt Gibson summed up after the game. "He's a big guy. I don't know how he gets all those rebounds. The ball just goes to him."

The loss ended UH's three-game winning streak and was Hawaii's third straight loss to Louisiana Tech.

As has been the case in the series lately -- and during WAC play for UH (13-6, 5-6 WAC) -- the ball didn't bounce the 'Bows' way at the end of the game.

Six of the last seven meetings have been decided by less than four points, including the Bulldogs' 61-59 win in Honolulu on Jan. 15.

Millsap grabbed his 13th rebound with 8 seconds left and dribbled downcourt before being fouled by Deonte Tatum as the UH guard and three other Hawaii defenders surrounded him.

After the foul was called, UH head coach Riley Wallace called a full timeout and spent the majority of the minute chewing out the refs for making the controversial call before Millsap hit the decisive free throw.

"We should have won the ballgame," Wallace said. "No other official in the league would make that call. They would let it go to OT. ... Most officials will tell you, 'I'm not gonna end the game on a cheap call.' That was a cheap call."

"It's funny how games are won and lost, the unexpected things that happen," LaTech head coach Keith Richard said. "I told them in the timeout, 'When we get the stop, I want you to come out with it.' What I meant was to get the ball to (point guard) Daevon (Haskins), not for Paul to dribble up the floor."

After the one-point loss to the Bulldogs, the 'Bows have now lost six games this season by a combined 12 points, five of the losses coming down to the game's final 30 seconds.

"It's crazy to think what could be, six losses by 12 points," UH guard Jake Sottos said. "It comes down to whoever wants it more. ... Hopefully this will help us out (in the WAC tournament)."

Sottos led UH with 23 points and hit nine of 15 shots, including 5-for-11 from 3-point range.

Gibson finished with 15 points for UH, and forward Jeff Blackett added 10. Leading scorer Julian Sensley was held to nine points.

Richard said Bulldogs guard Corey Dean -- who gave up 6 inches and 30 pounds to Sensley -- did an excellent job guarding the junior forward, who lit up the Bulldogs for 19 points in Ruston last year.

"That was a silent but great part of the game," Richard said. "I told him at the half how great he was playing, and he continued it in the second half."

LaTech (12-9, 7-5) shot 63 percent from the field and led 41-31 at the break. Millsap and senior center Wayne Powell were a combined 12 of 16 for 29 points.

"Millsap was just too much," Wallace said. "We didn't challenge him in the first half. We banged him around in the second half and made him work. He's carried this team on his back all year long. When the other guys join in, they can play."

The LaTech lead disappeared in the opening 7 minutes of the second half when the 'Bows used a 15-2 run to take a 3-point advantage.

The Bulldogs, who played zone defense for 40 minutes against UH in their first meeting this season, switched from man-to-man to start the second half and the 'Bows made them pay from long range.

"I was feeling my shot," Sottos said. "It felt good all day. They got in that zone, and my eyes kind of lit up."

Neither team made a field goal in the final 2:13 after Sottos' layup gave UH a 70-65 lead. LaTech -- which made just one basket in the final 10 minutes -- hit six of eight free throws to close out the game.

The Bulldogs were 22-for-32 from the line in the game. UH was 4-for-6.

"What we were doing the whole half kind of broke down in the last 2 to 2 1/2 minutes," Sottos said.

Powell added a double-double for the Bulldogs with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while guard Donell Allick added 13 points.

The 'Bows travel to Dallas for a game against SMU tomorrow.

Wallace said UH still has an opportunity to salvage this three-game, 11-day road trip with a win against the Mustangs.

"I said if we could get two of three, this would be a good trip," Wallace said. "We can go over there and win, but we've gotta play 40 minutes. We can't play 20-25 minutes."

WAC standings

	WAC				Overall
	W	L	Pct.	GB	W	L
Nevada	10	2	.833	--	17	5
UTEP	9	3	.750	1	19	5
Fresno State	7	5	.583	3	13	8
Louisiana Tech	7	5	.583	3	12	9
Rice	6	5	.545	3 1/2	12	8
Hawaii	5	6	.455	4 1/2	13	6
SMU	5	7	.417	5	10	10
San Jose State	3	8	.273	6 1/2	6	14
Tulsa	3	8	.273	6 1/2	6	14
Boise State	3	9	.250	7	9	14

Yesterday
Louisiana Tech 71, Hawaii 70
SMU 66, San Jose State 46
UTEP 93, Fresno State 80
Nevada 67, Boise State 57
Tomorrow (All times Hawaii time)
Rice at Tulsa
Fresno State at Boise State
San Jose State at Louisiana Tech
Hawaii at SMU
Nevada at UTEP

Louisiana Tech 71, Hawaii 70

Warriors (13-6, 5-6 wac)
	fg	fga	ft	fta	min	reb	a	tp
Blackett	5	12	0	0	38	5	3	10
Sensley	4	10	0	0	40	7	6	9
Botez	2	7	0	0	18	3	1	4
Gibson	5	13	4	4	33	3	6	15
Sottos	9	15	0	0	33	2	0	23
Gipson	2	4	0	1	22	1	1	5
Zivanovic	0	2	0	0	2	1	0	0
Tatum	2	6	0	1	10	2	1	4
Nash	0	2	0	0	4	0	1	0
TEAM						7
Totals	29	71	4	6	200	31	19	70
Bulldogs (12-9, 7-5 wac)
	fg	fga	ft	fta	min	reb	a	tp
Powell	6	9	5	8	37	10	3	18
Millsap	10	17	9	14	40	13	0	29
Allick	3	10	5	6	38	5	4	13
Haskins	3	6	3	4	40	7	7	9
Dean	1	6	0	0	38	2	2	2
Wilds	0	0	0	0	3	1	0	0
Thompson	0	0	0	0	4	1	0	0
TEAM						4
Totals	23	48	22	32	200	43	16	71

Key -- fg: field goals made; fga: field goals attempted; ft: free throws made; fta: free throws attempted; min: minutes played; reb: rebounds; a: assists; tp: total points.
Halftime -- Louisiana Tech 41, Hawaii 31.
3-point goals -- Hawaii 8-22 (Sottos 5-11, Gipson 1-1, Sensley 1-3, Gibson 1-5, Tatum 0-2), San Jose State 3-10 (Allick 2-4, Powell 1-2, Dean 0-4). Personal fouls -- Hawaii 19, Louisiana Tech 9. Fouled out -- None.
Steals -- Hawaii 10 (Blackett 3, Gibson 3, Sensley 3, Nash), San Jose State 6 (Millsap 2, Allick 2, Powell, Haskins). Blocked shots -- Hawaii 6 (Botez 2, Blackett, Sensley, Gibson, Gipson), San Jose State 4 (Millsap 3, Dean. Turnovers -- Hawaii 11 (Blackett 3, Gipson 3, Gibson 2, Sottos 2, Zivanovic), San Jose State 19 (Haskins 7, Powell 4, Millsap 3, Allick 2, Dean 2, Thompson). Officials -- Thibodeaux, Batsell, Whitehead. Attendance-- 2,026.