UH Vandal-ized

Clyde Johnson hits a 3-pointer with less than a second left to give Idaho a win over Hawaii

MOSCOW, Idaho » The Hawaii basketball team saw two things it seldom gets to see yesterday in Moscow -- snow and an Idaho victory.

Idaho    Hawaii 76 75 Next Up at Boise State tomorrow

Clyde Johnson sank a wide-open 3-pointer from the top of the key with 0.9 seconds left to give the Vandals a come-from-behind 76-75 Western Athletic Conference win.

The Rainbow Warriors (10-8, 1-4) kept their lead right around seven points for the majority of the second half, but too many defensive breakdowns proved the difference.

"We didn't play good defense tonight," Hawaii coach Riley Wallace said. "They ripped our defense up. Offensively, we got what we wanted when we wanted it -- we've just got to stop somebody else. That's the last two or three losses we've had has been strictly perimeter defense."

That was certainly the case last night.

Idaho (3-14, 1-4) tied the game twice in the second half, once at the 2:13 mark and then again with 1:46 left. Ahmet Gueye gave Hawaii some breathing room by scoring four straight points, giving the 'Bows a four-point edge with 22.1 seconds left.

Idaho's Keoni Watson converted a pair of free throws to trim the lead to two, then the Vandals were forced to foul and sent Matt Lojeski, an 82 percent free-throw shooter, to the line. Lojeski missed the first to keep the Vandals within three points with 15.5 left, but converted the second.

Watson nailed a 3 on Idaho's ensuing possession to tie it at 73. Idaho freshman David Jackson showed his age on the following Hawaii possession, inexplicably fouling Dominic Waters, who converted both attempts from the stripe with 8.7 to go.

"He got caught up in the moment," Idaho coach George Pfeifer said. "We'd been behind and we'd been fouling. The guy's 18 years old and he made a mistake."

On the game's final play, the Vandals' O.J. Ovworo penetrated and Gueye decided to follow him into the paint, despite the fact that Ovworo was already being guarded. Ovworo kicked the ball out to Johnson, and Gueye fell down in an attempt to get back to his man, leaving Johnson open for the game-winner.

The conference win was Idaho's first since defeating Fresno State last season.

"On the last play the idea was keep them in front of you, switch any picks, don't give up a 3," Wallace said. "He gets penetration and for some reason Gueye was helping him, which you don't want, and falls down leaving his man open."

The 3-ball ultimately won the game for Idaho and it also kept them in contention in the first half. Johnson hit two 3s off the bench early on, as did Trevor Morris, whose trey with 8:30 left in the first half gave the Vandals a 28-27 lead -- its last advantage until Johnson's last-second heroics.

Offensively, the Rainbows were sound. Five players finished in double figures, with Waters (18 points) and Lojeski (17) leading the way. Gueye and P.J. Owsley finished with 15 and 12 points and Bobby Nash added 11.

Hawaii shot just 37 percent from the field for the game, but six first-half 3-pointers and a 20-for-24 effort from the free-throw line over the course of the night gave the team a comfortable lead for the majority of the game.

It was just some defensive snafus that eventually sank the Rainbows.

"Defensively, that's it. That was the difference," Waters said. "We just couldn't stop them when it counted. That's it."

Idaho jumped out to a 7-0 lead that was quickly erased by six quick points from Nash. Waters and Lojeski led the Warriors in the opening half with 14 and 12 points.

Neither player did much to speak of offensively after the break. Hawaii hit six first-half 3s, but just one in the second half. Although the Rainbows shot 83 percent from the line, they missed two of their final eight attempts, which would have been the difference.

"We've got to make those clutch free throws down the stretch," Wallace said. "If we had we might still be playing. But, woulda, coulda, shoulda."

Hawaii will remain on the road and head south to take on WAC opponent Boise State tomorrow.

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