Riley leaves on winning note

The Rainbows give Wallace a parting gift in his final regular-season home game

Before the hugs, the leis, the gift presentations and the standing ovations, the Hawaii basketball team delivered coach Riley Wallace the present he wanted most.

Powered by a career performance on senior night by guard Matt Lojeski, the Rainbows sent Wallace out a winner in his final regular-season home game with a rousing 92-75 Western Athletic Conference victory yesterday at the Stan Sheriff Center.

"It was perfect," a lei-covered Wallace said after the emotional postgame tribute honoring him and the UH seniors. "The way we won, the way the seniors stepped up, the way the fans came out, I really appreciate everything."

A crowd of 6,958, the largest of the season, watched Lojeski pour in a career-best 35 points on 11-for-14 shooting from the field as he drained all seven of his 3-point attempts to lead the Rainbow Warriors (18-12, 8-8 WAC) to their fourth straight win.

"It's unreal," Lojeski said of the zone he was in. "You feel like you're throwing the ball in the ocean, everything you throw up is going in."

Fellow senior Ahmet Gueye added to the spirit of senior night with 17 points and nine rebounds. Juniors Bobby Nash and Matt Gibson contributed 14 and 12 points respectively in the win.

Even with the expected emotion of the postgame festivities, the Rainbows maintained their focus to take a lead in the first half and pull away in the second on 52.5 percent shooting from the field. The Rainbows finished one point shy of their season high and outrebounded Boise State 42-23.

"This is an incredible feeling for Coach Wallace and the seniors, and I'm glad we ended with a win," Gueye said.

"We couldn't have had any better preparation than what the coaches gave us. They said go ahead and relax and be yourself, and do what you have to do. We went in relaxed and wanted to get this win for Coach Wallace."

Following the game, Gueye and Lojeski were given roaring ovations as they took their final shots before the home crowd.

Then it was Wallace's turn.

The 20th-year coach was honored with a series of presentations from UH chancellor Denise Konan, WAC commissioner Karl Benson, members of the UH basketball booster club, former players and the coaching staff.

The win was Wallace's 334th at UH, tying him for the most in the school's basketball history with former women's coach Vince Goo, who presented Wallace with the game ball. The coaching staff also gave him a trip to opening day for Wallace's beloved St. Louis Cardinals.

"I never thought about (the postgame ceremony), because I was concerned about my emotions, which I did a very good job with," Wallace said. "You can give me a A-plus on that."

The outcome of the game certainly added to the celebratory tone of the ceremony and sends the Rainbows back on the road with momentum.

The Rainbows are scheduled to depart for Las Cruces, N.M., this morning after securing the fifth seed in the WAC tournament. They will face fourth-seeded Utah State in a quarterfinal game on Thursday. Boise State (16-13, 8-8) finished sixth and will face third-seeded Fresno State.

Led by Lojeski's 6-for-6 shooting after the break, the Rainbows shot 54 percent in the second half to ensure the Broncos wouldn't spoil last night's festivities.

His point total exceeded his previous high of 33 set against Creighton in the Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic championship game in December. It also put a bookend on his career at the Sheriff Center, which began with him hitting six treys in UH's upset of Michigan State last season.

"To be able to leave this court like this and play the way I did in my last game here and give the fans something to cheer for was great," he said.

Lojeski engaged Boise State's Coby Karl in a 3-point shoot-out in the first half, with both guards hitting three before the break and UH taking a 45-38 lead into the locker room. But where Karl cooled off in the second half, Lojeski maintained his scorching shooting touch.

The Rainbows were able to slow down Boise State's transition attack and stretched the lead to 59-49 when Lojeski drilled a 3 from the top of the key with 13:30 left. He then accounted for 15 straight UH points later in the half, hitting three 3-pointers in the run, to put the game away.

"They played real well," Boise State coach Greg Graham said.

"Lojeski had a great night, I thought Ahmet did a great job in the paint and we had to exert so much energy I think we ran out of gas.

"They did a good job in the second half with intensity, our starters I thought got a little tired. Give them credit, they played very well, when they needed big shots they hit them all."

Boise State forward Reggie Larry led five Broncos in double figures with 15 points, while Karl finished with 14, 12 coming in the first half.

Notes: Longtime UH trainer Melody Toth was also recognized after the game. She will retire this summer after 30 years in the UH athletic department. She said the fondest memory will be getting the last cut of the net when the Rainbows won the WAC tournament in 2002. ... Jimmy Borges and Jim Nabors sang before the game and Danny Kaleikini closed the night by leading the crowd in Hawaii Aloha.