FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM Rainbow Warrior seniors Matthew Gipson, Deonte Tatum, Chris Botez and Julian Sensley shook off a tough loss during senior night last night.

Senior slide

With Gueye out, UH struggles against LaTech and loses its last regular-season home game

A devastating injury and a nightmarish second half stole the luster from the Hawaii basketball team's annual senior-night festivities.

But the postgame ceremony was a bit more subdued than the previous six years, when UH sent its seniors out with a win in their final home game.

"It feels good to know that you have the support of your friends and family and the fans," UH senior Julian Sensley said. "We still have a chance in the (Western Athletic Conference) tournament, and that's all that matters."

A Rainbow Warrior squad missing Ahmet Gueye's imposing presence in the post saw Paul Millsap rack up 20 points and 23 rebounds to lead Louisiana Tech to its fifth straight win over UH.

Gueye, who leads UH in rebounding and is the WAC's top shot-blocker, tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during practice on Friday and could only watch as the Rainbows struggled to their worst shooting performance of the season (29 percent) and lost their first home game in WAC play.

UH scored 12 points in the second half, shooting 3-for-23 from the field as LaTech rallied from an 11-point deficit to win.

"We missed (Gueye)," UH guard Deonte Tatum said. "His presence out there alone, he gives you so much and he plays so hard."

"It hurts a lot, it hurts the team," UH coach Riley Wallace said. "But you saw tonight, they don't quit. They came out and they battled all the way.

"(LaTech) really played good defense in the second half. We just ran out of bodies."

Hawaii (17-10, 10-6 WAC), which entered the game tied for second in the WAC, fell to fourth and will face fifth-place New Mexico State in the quarterfinals of the WAC tournament at 6:30 p.m. Hawaii time, Thursday in Reno.

LaTech (19-11, 11-5) secured the third seed with the win and will play Boise State in the opening round.

"Tonight we had more energy than in any other game this season," Millsap said. "This game meant a lot to us."

An offensive flurry late in the first half sent UH into the break with a 36-25 lead and seemingly in control.

But after Sensley made two free throws to put UH up 40-34 with 13:41 left, the Rainbows went scoreless over the next 10:20 and had just one second-half field goal until Chris Botez tipped in a miss with 43.7 seconds remaining.

By then LaTech, which shot 36 percent, led 48-44 and held on for the win.

"We were on 40 (points) for 2 hours it seemed," Sensley said.

"The second half was just ugly. I don't even know what to say about it," Tatum said. "Our defense played well, we just couldn't put the ball in the basket. We didn't get a lot of second-chance opportunities and that cost us."

Sensley closed out his run at the Sheriff Center with his second double-double of the season, finishing with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Tatum had nine points. Guard Matt Lojeski was held to five and was slowed after taking a hard spill in the second half.

FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM Julius Sensley earned a double-double against Louisiana Tech last night.

Most of the scoring was done down low as the teams combined to go 2-for-35 on 3-point attempts. LaTech missed on all 18 shots beyond the arc.

Millsap, who is pursuing an unprecedented third NCAA rebounding title, made up for the poor shooting by grabbing seemingly every ball that came off the rim and posted his second-highest rebounding total of the season.

His performance impressed even his coach, who's become accustomed to big nights from the 6-foot-8 junior.

"This one was a little special tonight," LaTech coach Keith Richard said. "He had tremendous energy for 40 minutes. I couldn't believe the energy he had playing all those minutes."

Hawaii never trailed in the first half and opened up the halftime lead by making six of their last seven shots of the half.

After Tatum drove for a layup with 17:52 left, the basket repeatedly spat out UH shots and LaTech took its first lead at 41-40 when Jerome Richardson converted a steal into a layup.

"We called everything," Wallace said. "Deonte was mixing and matching out there. He was calling everything right, we just couldn't get them. Julian was taking it to the hole and they just wouldn't drop. ... I think we just got tired. We asked them to do a lot with very little."

The Bulldogs took their biggest lead at 48-40 on two Millsap free throws with 3:28 left. Sensley then broke UH's drought with two shots from the line.

Botez' tip-in and a Lojeski free throw cut the deficit to 48-45. But Corey Dean responded with a layup with 10.8 seconds left.

Sensley hit a 3-pointer with 4.5 seconds remaining to bring UH within two. Marcus Elliott made a free throw and Sensley's desperation heave was off the mark at the buzzer.