Aggies bag ’Bows

Hawaii's last two shots don't fall in a one-point loss

RENO, Nev. » A gritty effort by an undermanned Hawaii basketball team ended in heartbreak for the Rainbow Warriors.

NMSU    HAWAII 58 57 Next Up NIT or season over

Two UH shots in the final seconds stayed out of the bucket and New Mexico State held on for a 58-57 win in the quarterfinals of the Western Athletic Conference tournament last night at the Lawlor Events Center.

Hawaii fell to 17-11 with a loss in the tournament's quarterfinal round for the third straight year. NMSU (16-13) advances to face top seed and host Nevada in a semifinal game tonight.

UH, down to eight scholarship players, got double-figure scoring from four players to come back from an 11-point first-half deficit and build a seven-point advantage in the second.

UH forward Julian Sensley, one of four seniors who perhaps played his final game in a Rainbow uniform, led the team with 16 points and four assists.

Sensley had a shot to win the game in the final seconds, but his baseline jumper bounced off the rim into the hands of forward Matthew Gipson. But Gipson's putback attempt was also off the mark at the buzzer, sparking an NMSU celebration.

"We got exactly what we wanted," UH coach Riley Wallace said. "Julian likes that shot that he took and Matt caught it and was a little strong on it."

Said Sensley: "I tried to draw contact and get the foul. When it left my hand I tried to give it a soft touch.

"I thought I did (draw a foul), but the refs aren't going to call that. I probably should have kicked it out when they doubled me, in the heat of the moment you're not thinking about that."

Center Chris Botez, who gave the Aggies fits with his height in the paint in UH's 61-56 victory last week at the Stan Sheriff Center, again gave the Rainbows a boost and scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half.

Guard Deonte Tatum finished with 12 points, 11 in the first half to keep UH within striking distance when NMSU broke out to an early lead. Junior Matt Lojeski contributed 10 points.

But the Rainbows felt the absence of forward Ahmet Gueye, who suffered a season-ending knee injury last week.

"I'm very proud of my team, especially the four seniors," Wallace said. "These four seniors I have and the freshmen out there, a makeshift lineup for us, kept battling all year.

"We got some great wins during the season. I can't say enough about my team. I'm very proud of them and how hard they worked for us."

Wallace said earlier in the week that the Rainbows would probably need at least one win this week to earn a National Invitation Tournament bid.

"I don't know if (17-11) will get it there," he said. "Especially with the loss of Ahmet Gueye and we lost our last two games."

NMSU, led by forward Tyrone Nelson's 16 points and 11 rebounds, improved its chances of gaining an NIT berth if they fall short of the championship.

NMSU, which lost the rebounding battle 35-23 in Honolulu last week, grabbed 35 boards to UH's 29.

"It's about rebounding," Aggies coach Reggie Theus said. "At Hawaii they beat us on the boards and I thought that was the key to this game tonight."

NMSU guard Elijah Ingram, who sat out the previous matchup with a hamstring injury, scored 13 points. Guard Mike Mitchell had eight and gave the Aggies the lead for good with a layup and free throw with 2:07 left.

The Rainbows' zone defense helped slow down the Aggies' up-tempo attack and kept the game at a pace they preferred.

UH trailed by four at halftime and bolted to the lead with a 13-2 run early in the second half. But the Aggies chipped away and came up with the one stop they needed most.

"I thought our zone was very effective against them, slowed them down and got them in a halfcourt game, which is what we wanted," Wallace said.

"It just went down to the wire and this time it didn't fall for us. We gave a great effort, they gave a great effort, and they came up one point ahead of us."

Hawaii's shooting touch went cold early in the contest and NMSU went on a 9-0 run midway through the half with Mitchell's 3-pointer giving the Aggies a 20-11 advantage.

Tatum, who played both guard spots and forward, kept the Rainbows close and Sensley popped a 3-pointer just before the buzzer to close the gap to 30-26 at the break.

UH began the second half on fire and Lojeski's 3-pointer from the right wing at the 15:11 mark gave UH a 39-32 lead.

NMSU battled back and the game was tied three times before Mitchell converted a steal into a layup while being fouled. His free throw gave the Aggies a 58-56 lead with 2 minutes left.

Botez banked in a free throw to bring UH to within a point and the Rainbows got the ball back with 15.4 seconds left.

UH called a timeout, and got the ball to Sensley on the left block. But UH couldn't get its last two shots to fall.

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