’Bows still sliding

Losing streak hits five after a defeat at lowly Louisiana Tech

The late-season struggles continued yesterday for Hawaii with a 69-62 loss to last-place Louisiana Tech in a Western Athletic Conference men's basketball game.

The reeling Rainbow Warriors (11-17, 7-8 WAC), who were hanging with the league leaders a couple of weeks ago, have now lost five straight heading into their regular-season finale tomorrow at New Mexico State.

Louisiana Tech freshman Dwayne Lathan led with 23 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as the Bulldogs earned just their second conference win of the season, improving to 5-23 overall and 2-13 in WAC play.

Sophomore guard Kyle Gibson scored 18 of his 20 points in the second half, five coming in the final minute as LaTech scored seven unanswered after the Rainbows had tied the score at 60.

The Bulldogs won the rebounding battle 35-28, scoring 18 second-chance points, and went 30-for-35 from the free-throw line, 29 of those attempts coming in the second half.

Matt Gibson led the Rainbows with 22 points before fouling out. Bill Amis contributed 13 and Riley Luettgerodt had 10. The losing streak is UH's longest since late in the 2004-05 season.

UH next faces an NMSU team that hammered San Jose State 88-65 last night in Las Cruces. The Aggies win combined with Boise State's loss last night kept NMSU in the chase for the WAC regular-season title.

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RUSTON, La. » The Hawaii loss last night won't hurt the Rainbow Warriors in the standings.

That doesn't mean a 69-62 Western Athletic Conference defeat to last-place Louisiana Tech didn't pack a sting.

Louisiana Tech (5-23, 2-13) came out on top in a seesaw second half -- scoring seven unanswered points in a wild final minute -- to send Hawaii (11-17, 7-8 WAC) to its fifth straight loss.

"It hurts in the sense that our guys didn't seem to play the full game with urgency and pride," UH coach Bob Nash said. "Tonight we got outhustled by a very determined Louisiana Tech team.

"Give Louisiana Tech credit, they had guys who really stepped up."

Hawaii, now 1-6 in Ruston all-time, led by seven in the first half but couldn't break away from the Bulldogs, who were led by freshman guard Dwayne Lathan's 23 points and 12 rebounds, seven off the offensive glass.

Matt Gibson powered the Rainbows with 22 points before fouling out late in the game. Bill Amis had 13 points and Riley Luettgerodt finished with 10.

After Gibson went to the bench a final time, the Rainbows were able to erase a five-point lead to tie the game at 60 in the final minute. But Bulldogs guard Kyle Gibson -- who scored 18 of his 20 points in the second half and went 11-for-11 from the line -- converted a three-point play and then turned a UH turnover into two more free throws to put LaTech ahead for good.

Louisiana Tech entered last in the WAC in rebounding margin (minus 9.9 per game), but controlled the boards 35-28, led by the 6-foot-2 Lathan, and scored 18 second-chance points. The Bulldogs went 30-for-35 from the free-throw line and were aided by 20 Hawaii turnovers.

"All of that adds up in the negative," said Nash, who likened the loss to UH's home defeat to Idaho last week when the Vandals stuck around before stunning the Rainbows in overtime.

"You give them some hope and they saw a chance and they took it."

UH senior Bobby Nash (nine points, eight rebounds) hit a 3-pointer to open the scoring for UH and became the program's 14th member of the 1,000-point club in the process. But like Matt Gibson, who passed that milestone last month at Nevada, the achievement was overshadowed by a road loss.

Hawaii maintained a modest lead for most of the game until LaTech went on a 9-1 run in the second half to open up a 46-41 lead. The Bulldogs' run corresponded with Matt Gibson picking up his third and fourth fouls in less than a minute, forcing him to the bench.

Gibson re-entered with 7:36 left and ignited a 10-2 run to put UH back in front. The Rainbows led 53-50 when the Bulldogs scored eight unanswered, six coming from Lathan, to jump ahead.

The LaTech lead was 60-55 when Matt Gibson was called for a charge for his fifth foul. But UH battled back and trailed by two when Luettgerodt hit a shot while being fouled and made the free throw with a minute left. After a LaTech turnover, Amis tied the game with a dunk.

But Kyle Gibson wasted little time in breaking the UH press and put the Bulldogs back in front with the decisive three-point play. LaTech went 7-for-7 from the line in the final minute to seal the outcome.

It had no bearing on the standings, as the Rainbows were locked into fifth place in the WAC and UH closes the schedule tomorrow at New Mexico State. Along with it being NMSU's senior night, the Aggies will be looking to claim a piece of the WAC regular-season title and avenge a 94-71 loss to UH in Honolulu.

"I'm sure they'll be fired up and ready to play," Nash said of the Aggies.

Louisiana Tech 69, Hawaii 62

Bulldogs (5-23, 2-13 WAC)

Key -- fg-a: field goals made-attempted; ft-a: free throws made-attempted; rb: rebounds; pf: personal fould; pts: total points; a: assists; to: turnovers; min: minutes played.

Halftime -- Hawaii 25, Louisiana Tech 24

3-point goals -- Hawaii 3-14 (Dillinger 1-3, Gibson 1-4, Nash 1-5, Luettgerodt 0-1, Mayen 0-1), Louisiana Tech 3-14 (Washington 1-2, Gibson 1-2, Lathan 1-3, Tims 0-1, Clark 0-3, Loe 0-3).

Steals -- Hawaii 5(Luettgerodt 2, Gibson, Dillinger, Nitoto), Louisiana Tech 8 (Loe 2, Washington, Rogers, Clark, Gibson, Tims, Lathan). Blocked shots -- Hawaii 2 (Amis 2), Louuisiana Tech 6 (Lathan 4, Washington, Loe).

Officials -- Randy McCall, Steve Welmer, Randy Spauling, . A-- 5,783.

WAC standings

Yesterday
New Mexico State 88, San Jose State 65
Utah State 88, Boise State 69
Louisiana Tech 69, Hawaii 62

Tomorrow
Hawaii at New Mexico State, 4 p.m. Hawaii time
Utah State at Idaho
San Jose State at Louisiana Tech
Nevada at Fresno State